At 12-hour budget hearing, Queens residents make funding pitch to borough prez

Queens Borough Hall. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

By Rachel Vick

At a marathon budget hearing Monday, 145 people representing library, hospital and community groups across Queens made their pitches for more funding from Borough President Donovan Richards.

Requests at the 12-hour hearing included infrastructure improvements, like new street lights, library and hospital upgrades, and money for specific community-based organizations seeking support during the pandemic-fueled economic crisis. 

In a statement, Richards suggested he would seek to fund healthcare and quality of life initiatives.

“This upcoming fiscal year will present challenges as our city is enduring a financial crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Richards said.  “We need to ensure all Queens residents are provided proper healthcare and a decent quality of life.”

Groups also urged Richards to fund park clean ups following deep cuts to the city’s Sanitation budget. 

Community Board 9 District Manager James McClelland urged Richards to focus on “the nuts and bolts of constituent services” like essential services from the agencies like filling potholes and printing trees.

Officials from city-run hospitals branches asked for funding to help update hospital technology and expand the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Elmhurst Hospital. Patients often need to be transferred to other facilities, said Dr. Eric Wei, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for NYC Health + Hospitals.

Representatives from local colleges, art institutions and community organizations also presented their needs.

Several groups discussed the need to address food insecurity in the borough, a change from past years.

“Coming from last year to this year, we’re seeing new groups come on board and it's great to see changing priorities; some who didn't do anything with food securities pivoted toward that,” they said.

Officials from the borough president’s office said a full list of requests will be broken into capital or expense funding and compiled by the end of the week. They will then share the information with community boards and councilmembers who may be able to address the needs in their individual districts.

The borough president's summary of requests will be finalized and made available to the public by the end of February.