Community Board 10 District Manager Debbie Markell (at lectern) on Monday delivered testimony during the Borough Board’s public hearing on budget priorities. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
Community board officials, agencies, advocates and civic groups on Monday morning brought their budget needs and wants for Fiscal Year 2016—more cops at certain precincts, better sewer maintenance, find funds to bring hospitals back—before Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and the Borough Board.
The purpose of the hearing, according to Katz’s office, is to obtain the views and recommendations of stakeholders and residents on the proposals contained in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s FY 2016 Preliminary Budget. The input will be used to develop the Borough Board’s budget priorities for FY 2016.
Speakers had five minutes each to state their case inside Room 200 at Borough Hall.
Among the priorities for Community Board 9 that were outlined by Acting District Manager Lisa Gomes were additional lighting and trees along bustling commercial strips such as Jamaica Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard; and improved maintenance of Forest Park, which Gomes called “a jewel of Queens.”
“We hear that Jamaica Avenue is a problem for [adding] trees because of the [elevated train],” Katz told Gomes before assuring her that the office would look into it.
Community Board 10 District Karyn Petersen requested more attention be paid to the flood-impacted roadways of the board, and better maintenance of catch basins. Petersen also asked for more police officers at the 106th Precinct.
“Although Build it Back has improved, many of our residents are still dealing with [Superstorm] Sandy-related issues,” she added.
As is the case in many Queens communities, flooding continues to be a problem for District Manager Yvonne Reddick and CB 12.
“We’re asking that additional funds be allocated to move forward small projects that have been delayed [for years],” she said.
Overcrowding in elementary schools, and foreclosures still plague CB 12 and its residents, Reddick reported. She also touched on the healthcare needs of her neighbors.
“We need a full-scale, quality hospital in our district,” Reddick said. “[Clinics] are nice, but they are not the answer” because, in part, “at 6-7 o’clock they are closed.”
Reddick went on to say that “we’re hoping the problem of homelessness in CB 12 will be addressed. We have the most homeless shelters than any other district.”
Indeed CB 12—comprised of Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica—is home to 10 shelters.
Jonathan Gaska, district manager of CB 14 in the Rockaways, used his allotted five minutes to touch on many issues and needs, including seats in schools and the Sandy recovery process, which he described as “moving at a glacial pace.”
“The high schools are just way too overcrowded,” Gaska lamented. “If you want the middle class to stay in your borough, you need to build quality high schools.”
Gaska closed out his testimony by saying that “it is shameful how community boards have been treated in the last few years’ budgets… community boards have remained the only city agency that has not had cuts from 16 years ago restored. It is not fair and it is not good public policy.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
