Residents in the confines of Community Board 9 will again have their say on how to spend city funding through participatory budgeting workshops that Councilman Eric Ulrich will host in the weeks ahead.
The first workshop takes place Tuesday night at the CB 9 meeting in Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, followed two nights later with a workshop at Thursday night’s Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting, held at 7:45 p.m. at the American Legion Post 118 at 89-02 91st St.
During each session, residents will break up into groups and brainstorm ideas on capital improvement projects in Kew Gardens, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill and Woodhaven. Such projects include new street trees, technology upgrades at public schools or library renovations.
Residents may also submit their budget ideas in writing through suggestion boxes that Ulrich placed at locations throughout the community, or digitally through his Facebook or Twitter accounts.
Delegates from the communities will review the ideas gathered with city representatives before presenting a slate of suggestions to the public for final review and a vote in March 2016.
This is the third year in a row in which Ulrich is holding participatory budgeting in the CB 9 area; he is holding a separate participatory budgeting process in the southern areas of his district (community boards 10 and 14) for the fifth consecutive year.
“Participatory budgeting encourages a greater partnership between communities and elected officials to find creative solutions for neighborhood needs,” Ulrich said. “As I have always said, this isn’t my money, it is the taxpayers’ money, and they should have a say in how it’s spent.”
Three other sessions will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, during the 102nd Precinct Community Council meeting at the Richmond Hill library, 118-14 Hillside Ave.; at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, during the Richmond Hill Block Association meeting at its office, 110-08 Jamaica Ave.; and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, during the Our Neighbors’ Civic Association meeting in the Nativity Church basement, 101-41 91st St. in Ozone Park.
Additional workshops will be announced, according to Ulrich.
