Queens City Council raises a budget of nearly $ 40 million to fund services in District 20

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New York City Council passed the budget of $ 98.7 billion for fiscal year 2022 on Wednesday, June 30th. As part of the budget, City Councilor Peter Koo secured $ 39.05 million for schools, parks, and cultural institutions Council District Social Services 20.

Koo, who represents Flushing, Mitchell-Linden and Queensboro Hill, and parts of Whitestone and Fresh Meadows, said this year’s budget will help New Yorkers bounce back from “the worst pandemic of our generation.”

This year’s funding will go directly to the people and organizations working overtime, delivering meals to home-bound seniors, providing online programs and advice, and improving access to health care during the pandemic the needy, ”said Koo. “In addition, this year’s FY22 funding will go to necessary community facilities such as improvements to our local parks and playgrounds, resources for each school, and renovations to our local libraries and cultural facilities.”

The highlights for this year include:

Francis Lewis High School athletics and sports fields

A total of $ 10 million has been allocated to completely renovate the Francis Lewis High School athletics facility. The track has long suffered from worn and uneven surfaces that create dangerous conditions for athletes. The conversion of the athletics field is funded in order to provide the young athletes with safe and modernized competition facilities.

Parks and playgrounds

Captain Mario Fajardo Playground: US $ 2.4 million in partnership with Speaker Johnson will be used to renovate Phase II Mario Fajardo Playground in Pilsena Park. This is in conjunction with $ 3.2 million from last year’s budget for a complete playground renovation. This is the first major construction project for the playground in 20 years.

Beech Park: The park will receive $ 3.5 million in funding, secured by Koo and the Mayor’s Office, to fully renovate the multipurpose play area, basketball courts, and playground.

Pillowa Park Velodrom: Working with the mayor’s office, Koo secured a total of $ 2.5 million to be used to renovate the park’s famous bike path to make it safer for riders. The last renovation of the Velodrome was completed in 2004.

Green space improvements on College Point Boulevard: A total of US $ 950,000 will flow into Pilsena Corridor Park to beautify the green space next to the Queens Botanical Garden on College Point Boulevard and Blossom Avenue. This is a joint project in collaboration with Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens Botanical Garden and Bao Kang Adult Day Care, who will implement senior maintenance and servicing programs on the site. The redevelopment includes paving the existing ones desired route and installation of lighting.

Libraries

Total $ 2 Millions will go to two libraries in Council District 20. These new funds will be used for the resilience of the Queensboro Hill Library and the renovation of the Mitchell-Linden Library.

Promotion for schools

Every year Koos makes the first household phone calls to the council District 20 schools to ensure they have the resources they need to be successful. Once again, each school was funded with funds that were a large portion of this year’s allocations, totaling $ 14.896 million for FY22.

This year’s school funding includes technology upgrades in PS 20, PS 162, PS 242, PS 244, Queens Academy High School, Queens High School for Language Studies, and Veritas Academy. Further improvements include the financing of lecture hall and gym upgrades at the PS 24, PS 120, PS 163, PS 177, PS 214 and the Flushing International High School. PS 22 will also receive a $ 500,000 allocation for security cameras. Over the past 12 years, Koo has raised more than $ 50 million for schools in his district.

Independent financing

From his personal discretionary funding, Koo has provided $ 710,000 in nonprofit spending funding for 99 programs in 85 different community-based organizations, including the South Asian Council for Social Services, the Korean American Family Service Center, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, and more. The funds will be used for a variety of programs and services, such as after-school programs, domestic violence counseling, senior transportation through self-help community services, graffiti removal, arts and culture programs, and more.

Funding from the AAPI community

In addition to his personal assignments to local Asia-Pacific Island (AAPI) groups for initiatives such as direct services, legal assistance, and voice access, Koo praised a new influx of $ 4 million in city-wide funding used to support the AAPI community.

“Our community has fought hard for a tangible solution to the devastating effects of the pandemic and the rise in Asian hate crimes. This new funding is a great first step that I hope will become a lasting commitment to addressing systemic inequalities in our community, ”said Koo.

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