June 30, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Photo: Jimmy Van Bramer (Twitter)
Sunnyside and Woodside’s schools, libraries, roads and playgrounds are about to get an injection of funding following the passage of the council’s $78.5 billion budget on Friday.
Some of this money will go toward traffic safety near a Woodside school that the Department of Transportation identified years ago as a priority for improvements.
IS 125 in Woodside received $1 million for street safety improvements around the school. What these upgrades will entail exactly has yet to be worked out with the Department of Transportation, according to the office of Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who secured the funding.
Twenty-six schools within Van Bramer’s district, which also includes Long Island City and parts of Astoria, will see modernization and tech upgrades thanks to $1.29 million in funding. These upgrades will range from new laptops, to SMART Boards, to software, among others.
The City budget also includes money for improved green space throughout the Sunnyside/Woodside area.
Hart Playground, just next to the intersection of Broadway and 37th Avenue in Woodside, received $320,000 – on top of $500,000 secured in previous years – for a renovation and modernization project.
According to Van Bramer’s office, the extra funding will allow for a full renovation of the playground, which has not been upgraded in decades. The revamp might include new benches, ground surfacing, and improved play equipment.
Also in Woodside, Broadway from 49th Street to 69th Street will be lined with new trees, at a cost of $200,000.
In both Sunnyside and Woodside, libraries will get accessibility improvements.
ADA accessibility upgrades – namely ramp installations – are planned thanks to $100,000 for the Queens Library branches in both neighborhoods.
City-wide, libraries received a $39 million boost to allow for six-day service at every branch.
The Woodside branch will soon be open on Saturdays.
