By Forum Staff
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. Wednesday announced capital allocations of $10 million for Queens parks and more than $6.9 million for the Queens Public Library system.
Richards’ allocation of $10 million for parks in Fiscal Year 2023 will fund upgrades at 11 different parks or playgrounds across Queens, as well as supporting improvements at the Project Eden community garden in Forest Hills under the auspices of NYC Parks’ GreenThumb program — the largest community gardening network in the nation.
Also included in the allocation is the Borough President’s previously announced $100,000 tree crowdsourcing campaign, which resulted in the planting of approximately 30 trees in Community Districts 3, 9 and 12.
Of the 11 different parks being funded, six received seven-figure allocations from the Borough President. These projects include:
- $1.5 million for synthetic turf field renovations at Idlewild Park in Rosedale.
- $1.5 million for playground renovations at Lawrence Virgilio Playground in Sunnyside.
- $1 million for playground renovations at Equity Park in Woodhaven.
- $1 million for playground renovations at Frank O’Connor Playground in Elmhurst.
- $1 million for athletic field renovations at Leonardo Ingravallo Playground in Flushing
- $1 million for playground renovations at St. Michael’s Playground in Woodside.
Meanwhile, Richards’ allocation of more than $6.9 million for libraries in FY23 will fund upgrades at 12 Queens Public Library branches. Included in the allocation is $1 million in FY23 funding to expand the Rosedale library and nearly $900,000 in FY23 funding to expand the Arverne library — both of which the Borough President announced last year during his inaugural Borough Hall on Your Block initiative in Southeast Queens.
Other highlights from Borough President Richards’ commitment to improving our libraries include:
- $1 million for renovations to the South Ozone Park branch.
- $1 million for an expansion of the Corona branch.
- $750,000 for renovations to the Richmond Hill branch
- $500,000 each for the renovations of the Baisley Park and Hollis branches.
- $500,000 for upgrades to the HVAC system at the Astoria branch.
- $366,000 for renovations to the Laurelton branch.
Over the course of his administration, Borough President Richards has allocated more than $127 million in capital funding across Queens, including more than $22 million for schools, nearly $20 million for cultural organizations, nearly $19 million for healthcare facilities, more than $16 million for both parks and libraries, $10 million for Queens’ CUNY colleges, $9 million for community spaces and nearly $6 million for streetscape and street safety improvements.
“It was a historic year for Queens, as we made unprecedented investments in ensuring our students receive the best education possible, our families have high-quality open space in their communities, our hospitals have state-of-the-art equipment and more,” Richards said. “Queens is the future of New York City, and I’m deeply proud of the work we are doing together as one borough to make that future as bright as possible. We’re just getting started, though, and I look forward to that work continuing in Fiscal Year 2024 and beyond.”
Announcements about Borough President Richards’ FY24 allocations will be made in the coming weeks, his office said.
