Council Member Vickie Paladino announced two major capital projects in her northeast Queens district that received just over $7 million in combined funding for the 2025 fiscal year.
For the renovation of the multi-use athletic field at Bayside High School, a total of $3.5 million was collectively allocated by city officials to go towards revamping the field, scoreboard and clubhouse. The 2.69-acre field is used for track, soccer, football and softball and has plenty of stadium seating for games.
The biggest chunk of funding, at $2 million, came from the office of Mayor Eric Adams, who graduated from Bayside High School in 1979. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards allocated $1 million and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who also attended Bayside High School, put forward $150,000 for the field’s renovation.
“I’m proud to have secured $3.5 million for much-needed improvements to the athletic field at Bayside High School,” said Councilwoman Paladino, who allocated $350,000 for the project.
In a statement, she added a personal thank you to the Mayor and his office, which she said “in particular really came through for this project.”
“I want to thank him personally for making District 19 schools a funding priority,” said Paladino about the mayor.
Another key project that has been a long-time priority for Community Board 11 is the reconstruction of the bike lanes along Northern Boulevard into a proposed greenway. The corridor has been criticized for a lack of safety, utility and aesthetics for over six years now.
Speaker Adams allocated $3.4 million to the first phase of the project which will redesign Northern Boulevard between 223rd Street and Douglaston Parkway, as well as upgrade intersecting parts of Cross Island Parkway that are particularly dangerous.
“This project has been a top priority of Community Board 11, and through their engagement with my office and the constituents of District 19, I’m proud to deliver,” said Paladino, whose office allocated $350,000 for the upgrades.
She added that, the project will remove the unpopular jersey barriers along Northern Boulevard, with a full redesign that will make the corridor safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
At a Community Board 11 meeting last fall, board members strongly advocated for a greenway that would include better-insulated bike lanes, benches, planters and proper signage.
They also called for the removal of the existing jersey barriers that went up in 2017, when the bike lanes were installed, in favor of a safer and more aesthetically pleasing greenway design.
