By Bill Parry
Astoria and Jackson Heights residents will have the opportunity to vote on how to spend $1 million on projects through out their neighborhood as Participatory Budgeting winds down in Council District 22 this spring. They will get to chose their favorite five out of ballot of 18 project proposals that was introduced last Friday.
Proposals include a new dog run under the RFK Bridge, renovations at NYCHA Astoria Houses, schoolyard upgrades at PS 126, a pedestrian plaza at Newtown Avenue and 33rd Street, among other proposals.
“Participatory Budgeting has been rewarding for our entire district,” City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) said. “The entire process has featured ideas generated by members of the community. It has provided an opportunity for residents to become engaged with the civic process through events and meetings. Everyone has shared their common love of their neighborhood and become interconnected. Our budget delegates have worked through the city budget process from a grassroots level and have been empowered to make decisions that will better our community.”
During April 13-19, residents will vote on up to five projects that they want to see funded. Ballot proposals that get the most votes and are within the $1 million limit will be the winning projects.
“For the first time, anyone in the district can directly make decisions about how taxpayer money is spent,” Constantinides said. “I thank everyone who has been involved in the process so far and look forward to seeing a successful turnout during our voting days.”
The process involved a series of meetings that fed into the city’s annual budget cycle. Hundreds of community members attended four assemblies, held in October and November throughout Astoria and Jackson Heights, and brainstormed project ideas.
Nearly 100 residents volunteered to be budget delegates. These delegates broke into groups that worked on specific issues and transformed the initial list of 250 capital project ideas into a ballot of 18 fully formed proposals.
Another idea for consideration is soundproofing the cafeteria at PS 122, which was built nearly a century ago and not designed to mitigate nose levels, giving some children headaches. A fitness upgrade for Whitey Ford Field is also on the ballot as is a new music room for the students at PS 2 in East Elmhurst.
Constantinides will announce where the voting will take place in the next several weeks.
One lifelong Astorian, Romina Enea, a 25-year-old teacher and non-profit fund-raiser, enjoyed taking part in the Participatory Budget process.
“As a political buff it gave me an appreciation for how difficult it is to get a project off the ground,” she said. “I’m not sure why it took me so long to get involved, but the whole process of being a budget delegate has made me want to be more active in local politics.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
