Residents at the Whitman Houses in Fort Greene kicked off a carnival Thursday night where they discussed how to improve the community if they are awarded $30,000.

They came up with ideas together, all thanks to Mayors’ Action Plan, or MAP.

Using neighborhood stat as a tool to engage the community, residents discussed community priorities, challenges they are currently facing, and bounced ideas to foster public safety solutions.

The carnival invited residents to come down, grab some food, play some games, and, most importantly, fill out ballots to express ideas about where that $30,000 should go.

“It means so much to our residents. We need it... we’re lacking so much funding in our community and, again, we don’t have a community center. So we have to find ways to get creative and deter the violence,” said resident Julie Sharpton.

A representative from the Mayors' Action Plan says the process of awarding the money will take about two months.

Thursday night marked the start of the conversation of where this money should go.

After reviewing community members ballots, the decision will be made in September.