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District 19 to get $14 million in 2015-16 city budget

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Photo courtesy of the office of Paul Vallone

District 19 in north Queens received nearly $14 million for the upcoming fiscal year out of the $78.5 billion budget passed by the New York City Council on Friday.

Councilman Paul Vallone secured almost $7 million of the incoming funding, and an additional $4.1 million and $2.5 million were allocated by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito respectively.

According to Vallone, who is in his second year in his City Council seat, the amount earmarked for District 19 in that time is nearly as much as the area received in the previous six city budgets combined.

District 19 includes the areas of College Point, Whitestone, Malba, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Auburndale and parts of Flushing.

“As promised, I’ve continued working hand in hand with my fellow elected officials and have been able to ensure that my constituents finally begin to receive their fair share of funding,” said Vallone. “This year’s budget is another clear victory for our communities and will go a long way to continue making our schools, parks, libraries and nonprofits the best they can be.”

More than $2.5 million will be used for schools, and this combined with additional funds secured from Borough President Melinda Katz will ensure that each school in District 19 will receive at least $50,000. Some schools will also be receiving additional capital funding for needed structural upgrades.

Vallone’s funding also includes $2.4 million set to go to local parks, and more than $1 million allocated toward funding the winning projects of the participatory budgeting vote in April.

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