With $1 million to spare, Councilman Costa Constantinides wants to hear from Astoria residents about how to best allocate this money.
Participatory budgeting allows residents to choose specific projects to be funded by the councilman’s discretionary budget. People ages 14 and older will have a chance to choose their top five projects out of 19 that were previously identified by constituents last fall.
Voting will take place from March 25 to April 2. Almost 700 residents attended neighborhood assemblies in order to create the list. The winners will be funded by Councilman Constantinides’ 2017-2018 discretionary capital budget.
“I am proud to once again provide our residents with the chance to help decide how to invest $1 million in our neighborhood,” the councilman said. “This rewarding opportunity brings the city budget process directly to our community members, and keeps the community civically engaged. I thank everyone who joined the committees, who submitted projects, and who discussed and debated these proposals over the last few months. I’m looking forward to seeing which proposals the community likes best.”
The options are broken down by categories including parks and recreation; arts, culture, and community facility; education;transit and housing.
Fitness upgrades at Whitey Ford Field, a basketball court upgrade at Steinway Street and Ditmars Boulevard and new tree plantings around the neighborhood are on the ballot for parks and recreation.
Upgrades including an accessible entrance and solar panels at Queens library in Astoria and technology upgrades for District 22 libraries are included in the arts, culture and community facility category.
Schools including P.S. 11, Young Women’s Leadership School, Long Island City High School and P.S./I.S. 300 are on the ballot where proposals such as a new research center, gym and bathroom upgrades and a STEM lab are all up for voting.
For transit, bus countdown clocks, road repair and surfacing and a neighborhood wayfinding and commuter map are on the ballot.
Upgrades to Astoria Houses including parking lot light installation and closed-circuit security cameras can also be voted for.
Here are the voting locations:
