Whitey Ford Field
Feb. 21, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
Astoria residents will get to decide how to spend $1 million in the coming months.
Councilman Costa Constantinides announced the launch of the latest round of participatory budgeting today, allowing residents to vote on what improvements they would like to see in the community.
The voting will kick off on March 25 and continue through April 2 at various locations throughout the community (see below).
Proposals on the ballot include (click link for full list):
- Upgrade to the fitness equipment at Whitey Ford Field
- Basketball court renovation at Steinway/Ditmars Blvd
- Research center at Q300/PS 17
- Solar panels at the Queens Library Steinway branch
- Security cameras at Astoria Houses
- Bus countdown clocks
“This rewarding opportunity brings the city budget process directly to our community members, and keeps the community civically engaged,” Constantinides said in a statement.
The 20 proposals on the ballot were produced based on community brainstorming sessions in the fall. During the meetings more than 700 community members came up with more than 600 ideas, and whittled them down to detailed proposals.
Residents will now have the chance to vote on which projects they would like to see funded out of Constantinides’ discretionary budget for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year.
Last year Constantinides ended up allocating $1,230,000 towards the projects his constituents voted on, including adding picnic and gaming tables and water fountains to Astoria Park, and installing bus countdown clocks on bus stops throughout the district.
For a full list of proposals on the ballot visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/116mGd45UM5DNA93H5gmBux5s_oXxaqCev3OJaXvUfcg/edit#gid=0.
Voting locations
