A participatory budgeting voter and volunteer in 2018 (Photo: Costa Constantinides/Twitter)
March 21, 2019 By Christian Murray
Astoria residents will get to decide how to spend $1 million in coming weeks.
Council Member Costa Constantinides announced the launch of the latest round of participatory budgeting today, allowing residents to vote on what capital improvements they would like to see in the greater Astoria district.
Participatory Budgeting is a process that allows constituents to vote on how $1 million of capital dollars are to spent in their district on items such as school improvements, libraries and parks.
The voting this year will kick off on March 30 and continue through April 6 at six locations throughout the 22nd Council District, which covers Astoria, East Elmhurst, and parts of Long Island City and Woodside. Residents can also vote online at the following site.
Proposals on the ballot include:
The resurfacing of the handball court walls at Woodtree Playground
The installation of benches and gardens at 21st Street & Hoyt Avenue North
Ground beautification at Astoria Houses
Upgrades to the equipment and various fixtures at Astoria Library
Classroom electrical upgrades at P.S. 70 at 30-45 42nd St.
The 13 proposals were determined by residents after a series of community brainstorming sessions in the fall. During those meetings, community members put forward their ideas that were whittled down with the assistance of city agencies.
District residents ages 11 and up can vote, and they are permitted to select up to five projects they would like to see funded.
The most popular items will be announced in June and will be funded out of Constantinides’ discretionary budget for the 2020 fiscal year.
Last year, about 3,200 residents voted, with about 2,000 of those online.
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17 Comments
Fix DITMARS PARK on Steinway st.
It is in horrible and unsafe condition!!!
I wish they would put speed bumps on 33rd street the cars trucks and motorcycles fly by there very dangerously
I wish they would plant more trees in Astoria.
A special election to vote out that clown, Council Member Costa Constantinides. Completely useless. Astoria is fast becoming a shithole with homeless, garbage, crime, and empty storefronts. Steinway street is in ruins. He is more concerned about greenhouse issues. Total con artist and as dumb as a doorknob. Vote this bum out already
Fumigate the hipsters out of Astoria
And who would be left? Old folks and the growing Hookah Lounge area residents? We are lucky the younger working generation likes Astoria.
Delighted to see P.S. 70, a great school, finally included here! Please, anyone eligible to vote for that district, remember P.S.70 ; thank you.
500K for 2 handball walls made of cement? Government misspending at its worst!
The city is the worst landlord. If home or business owners had sidewalks and streets with cracks and potholes the way the city has their streets, they’d be fined up the wazoo! What happens to all of the millions the city gets from traffic violations, not mention the overpriced muni meters?
$500k to Resurface Hoyt Park Handball Courts?
How about putting air conditioners in the old part of the PS 70 school building. My son is asthmatic with really bad allergies and it was very hot and humid in the beginning of the school year. Opening the windows doesn’t help because of his allergies. I offered to give a portable A/C to the teacher for the classroom but said she needs permission and I never heard back from. I am wondering how many more days he will miss now that the warmer weather is coming……
Majority of us survived school days without air conditioners…
Invest it so that $1m can be more. Have money make more money.
Out of a 90 billion dollar budget we vote on 1 million to be spent on 1 of 13 predetermined projects. Wake up people we are being played.
$31 million of New York City’s $89 billion budget — roughly 0.035% — will be put to a direct vote. These costs expose how inefficient government spending is.
$400,000 for a ramp and a door – if that doesn’t scream fraud I don’t know what does.
I’d upgrade that schools high speed WIFI for a fraction of that.
Did you put in a bid?