Queens community boards ask for funding amid city budget crunch
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Queens’ community boards testified about their budget priorities at the borough president’s budget heating on Monday morning. Screenshot via Office of the Queens Borough President/Youtube
By Ryan Schwach
Queens’ 14 community boards made their annual funding pitch to the borough president during a public hearing on Monday – but the city’s fiscal outlook may make getting additional dollars to the local boards more difficult.
With the city still working to dig itself out of a $5 billion budget hole, Queens CB members asked Borough President Donovan Richards to fund their community priorities with what money he does have. The borough president’s own office is facing a nearly $2 million budget cut in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preliminary budget.
At one point during the Monday budget hearing, which was held online due to the winter storm, a board representative said funding local parks should be “easy.”
“It ain’t easy,” Richards said. “I got a budget cut.”
Still, the BP is holding out hope the city’s budget gap isn’t as extreme as believed and that funding the borough will increase as budget negotiations move forward.
"Until the mayor and Council speaker shake hands on a final city budget for Fiscal Year 2027, it would be far too premature to responsibly discuss at this stage of the budget negotiation process what future funding decisions the Queens borough president's office may make,” said spokesperson Chris Barca. “However, just like any other budget cycle, Borough President Richards will work alongside Queens' community board leadership this spring to identify and prioritize capital projects that directly improve the lives of our families.”
Regardless of the city’s budget circumstances this year, the priorities from Queens’ CB’s remained mostly in line with long-standing concerns around flooding and public safety.
“A lot of our priorities in recent years have been environmental sewer projects,” said Gary Giordano, district manager for CB5. He was not alone in his concern.
Addressing flooding and the borough’s outdated sewage infrastructure was on the grocery list for more than half of the boards that testified on Monday.
While the city has put some money into storm resiliency and improving the borough's century-old infrastructure, flooding issues persist.
“As far as flooding is concerned and sewer infrastructure, Community Board 12 continues to experience the severe impacts of climate change, including persistent flooding and a rising water table,” said Katherina Thompson. “We request continued investment in strengthening and monitoring and modernizing our water and sewer infrastructure, addressing regular, recurring flooding conditions and the long standing groundwater issues that have burdened our homeowners for decades.”
Those concerns remain especially prescient for the coastal communities of Southeast Queens.
Karen Peterson, district manager for Community Board 10, which includes the low lying areas in Howard Beach, urged the city to expand FloodNet NYC, which tracks flood data.
“Resiliency infrastructure continues to be a leading concern for the residents we serve,” she said. “There has been little done to afford future physical protection in the view of our residents and businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. More often now, we are also experiencing major rain events that overwhelm the sewer system in all parts of our district, sewer system upgrades are needed all throughout the district.”
Rockaway’s CB14 District Manager Felicia Johnson said the same thing, and highlighted the need for more bulkhead construction on the bay side of the peninsula, which has historically been overlooked.
“All the neighborhoods directly adjacent to the bay and ocean need updated and upgraded storm protective measures,” she said. “On the bay side of the peninsula, bulkhead replacement and street raising remains a must.”
The representative for Queens’ most isolated community also called for the city to build the QueensLink – a proposed elevated subway that would extend to the peninsula from South Queens – and money for a new trauma center.
Other community representatives had their own specific local requests, as well.
Giovanna Reed, district manager for CB3, asked for a new hospital annex in East Elmhurst to help the heavily populated community, which currently relies on the busy Elmhurst Hospital.
“Currently, we only have one hospital facility that accommodates a million-plus residents, and north of Northern Boulevard, there are no medical facilities that would accommodate the health needs of the residents in that area, so the hospital is one of our top priorities,” she said.
Reed also requested more baseline funding for police and sanitation around Diversity Plaza.
CB7 has long listed funding for a new NYPD precinct to supplement the 109th, and did so again on Monday.
“We desperately need public sector safety equity for a very undeserved community board,” said District Manager Mary O’Neill. “This new precinct will supplement our heavily overburdened 109th Precinct.”
Community Board 4 also asked for the city to look into getting a precinct for the Corona neighborhood.
“I'm here to advocate again that one a comprehensive study of the district and the precinct footprint, including personnel allocation and recent future crime trends, and a continued detailed discussion to what we hope would be eventual acquisition of land and construction of an additional precinct,” said District Manager Christian Cassagnol.
On the topic of the NYPD, Peterson of CB12 asked for more cops for their local 106th Precinct.
“Our precinct has experienced no real net personnel gain for years when new officers are available and assigned to precincts, it seems we are not experiencing our fair share when we look at our personnel numbers,” she said.
Also keeping in tune with long-term priorities, Southeast Queens’ CB13 asked for more help in addressing illegal truck parking.
“Illegal truck parking in Southeast Queens is a major problem in communities near JFK International Airport,” said District Manager Mark McMillan.
The Mamdani administration last week unveiled its first preliminary budget proposal, which was largely influenced by a $5 million budget gap the mayor has largely blamed on his predecessor and on the state.
The mayor floated a potential 9 percent property tax increase to help balance the budget if the state does not chip in or raise taxes on millionaires and corporations.
The property tax threat, which Mamdani repeatedly stressed is a “last resort,” received widespread criticism, including from Richards who endorsed the mayor and is considered an ally.
Richards said property tax increases could harm middle and lower class New Yorkers, especially in the homeownership-rich communities of Southeast Queens.
Richards doubled down on that sentiment during the hearing on Monday.
“This is why I'm firmly against even the property tax proposal, you're going to price us out of New York City,” he said, referring to rising utility costs as just another added expense on Queens residents. “I don't care who it is. I'm not shy to say, it is literally pricing people out in New York City with these outrageous costs.”
