Queens culture cash

 

 QNS

Leaders from several Queens cultural institutions gathered together on Aug. 10 at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, where NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo announced $4.5 million in capital funding to support the restoration and renovation of Isamu Noguchi’s Studio.

The project will allow public access for the first time in the museum’s history and preserve the living spaces designed by Noguchi, new amenities for visitors, as well as the construction of a new facility for the storage and study of its collection. As part of her ongoing five borough tour, Cumbo also detailed investment for other institutions including Queens Museum, Flux Factory, New York Hall of Science, Queens Theatre the Poppenhusen Institute, and the Queens Botanical Gardens.

“The extraordinary diversity and energy of Queens is reflected in its cultural organizations, and we’re thrilled to invest in these projects that will give local residents and visitors from all over access to the remarkable cultural facilities they deserve,” Cumbo said. “From this exciting new project at Noguchi Museum that will open up the legendary artist’s living space to the public for the first time, to the Queens Museum’s ongoing expansion, and many more — these projects are part of the city’s long-term investment in the cultural community of Queens and across all five boroughs.”

Mayor Eric Adams has invested $127 million in capital support across the five boroughs which, along with funding from the City Council and borough presidents, brings a total of more than $220 million in funding to 70 cultural groups citywide.

“I’m thrilled that the Noguchi Museum, along with many other incredible Queens cultural institutions have received this historic funding from Mayor Eric Adams,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. “With the Mayor’s investment and my $3 million allocation for a new storage lab and study center, the Noguchi Museum will be able to expand and improve upon the stellar experience it offers to visitors.”

Noguchi Museum Director Brett Littman said he was grateful for the support and investment from the Adams administration and the borough president.

“Since its founding in 1985, the Noguchi Museum has presented exhibitions and programs that reach audiences throughout Queens, as well as around the world,” Littman said. “Our capital project will enable public access to Isamu Noguchi’s Studio for the first time in its history, open a new cafe and shop for visitors, and create dedicated space to preserve, protect and research Noguchi’s art and archive.

 

Sleepy Joe sends disaster relief funding to NYC

 

NY Post

President Biden on Monday approved New York’s major-disaster declaration, a move that will funnel federal relief dollars to local governments and homeowners ravaged by Hurricane Ida’s devastating flooding last week.

Gov. Kathy Hochul asked the White House for the declaration Sunday while noting that Ida’s financial hit to the state could involve “multi-multimillions” of dollars — up to $50 million. 

“I saw the devastation of New Yorkers who lost so much from this storm, and I pledged that we would do everything in our power to help them rebuild,” Hochul said in a statement Monday.

“I thank President Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell for their swift approval of a Major Disaster Declaration, which provides a promise that we will build back better and stronger.

“I look forward to touring disaster areas with President Biden tomorrow and will continue to work with FEMA and our members of Congress to ensure New Yorkers get the relief they need from the devastating impacts of this horrible storm,” she said.

Biden will visit Queens on Tuesday to tour neighborhoods hit hard by the storm. At least 13 people died in New York City during Ida — nearly all after becoming trapped in basements in Queens and Brooklyn.

NYC's feckless officials finally help NYC's homeless services...workers

 

AMNY 

With homelessness one of the most pressing issues in the 2021 mayoral race, it’s more important than ever that those on the street have somewhere safe to sleep. Oftentimes, that means a non-profit shelter. Yet many of the private security officers who work at these shelters are paid so little they can barely afford health insurance  – and are even in danger of homelessness themselves.

Now the New York City Council and Mayor Bill DeBlasio are moving to change this, committing 40.5 million dollars to ensure that these essential workers are paid fair, livable wages.

“For over 4,000 working families – their lives are going to change, this year,” said Mayor DeBlasio at a press conference this afternoon. A group of working people, each wearing union shirts, stood behind him. “You can’t ask someone to help solve one of the most challenging problems in society, but not give them enough to put food on their tables, or pay their rent, or take care of their families.” 

His description was borne out by a number of speakers. Homeless shelters can be rife with violence; yet many security officers are paid minimum wage, barely enough to sustain an individual, let alone a family.  “We cannot afford to live in the city we work,” said Shaquille Sheppard, a private shelter security officer who himself grew up in-and-out of shelters. “Private security jobs are poverty jobs.” Kyle Bragg, president of Local 32BJ, a chapter of the Service Employees International Union, substantiated this, saying that, “while helping the City’s most vulnerable, many of these workers struggle to afford things themselves,” and, “may even find themselves homeless.” 

Impunity City 

 

Mayor de Blasio, who promised to end the tale of two cities, and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and his Democrat majority City Council Cronies waited 8 years to finally do something about the homeless crisis by finally allocate funding for a long overdue wage hike for security guards. Sure there’s nothing wrong with wanting to give the people more money especially when tasked to supervise the city’s notoriously violent and decrepit homeless shelters. But there are a bunch of conflicting problems with this.

First, why haven’t the non-profit providers of these city shelters who are already receiving city funding already gave these security guards the living wages they needed?

 

Chirlane McCray's ThriveNYC program and personal media entourage has to be funded somehow...

NY Post

“People will die” if City Hall follows through with a plan to lay off nearly 400 EMTs and paramedics, the head of the union representing those workers told The Post.

Oren Barzilay, head of EMS Local 2507, said FDNY brass told him that 10 percent of the city’s 3,700 EMTs and paramedics will be cut under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to slash 22,000 municipal workers.

“The response times will go through the roof. That would put people at risk. People will die,” Barzilay warned.

De Blasio has said the reductions will come in October if the city doesn’t get state or federal aid to fill a major budget deficit caused by the coronavirus. Earlier this month he ordered agencies to come up with lists of cuts, according to Politico.

The number of EMTs and paramedics has already dropped from 4,100 before the pandemic. Four of his members died from the virus and three others committed suicide, Barzilay said. They were on the frontline of the crisis, rushing patients to hospitals around the five boroughs.

During the pandemic, his members responded to 7,000 emergency 911 calls, nearly double the normal amount.

“We were the only ones going into homes to save lives. That’s what we did. This is the thanks the men and women from EMS are now getting,” Barzilay fumed.

“COVID is not over. What happens if there is a surge?” he asked.
Reps for FDNY and City Hall did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Another union source said the cuts are nearly inconceivable.

“I don’t know where they would trim EMS, we are understaffed,” said Anthony Almojera, vice president of EMS Local 3621.

DeBlasio & Council screw community out of better police protection

From the Queens Chronicle:

Residents of Southeast Queens thought 40 years of advocacy and hard work had come to fruition in July 2017 when Mayor de Blasio joined them along with NYPD brass and elected officials in Rosedale, next to the land that was finally going to become the NYPD’s new 116th Precinct.

But with a stroke of his pen, de Blasio transferred the $92 million in capital funding to other projects, including a community center in Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans.

NYPD critics, including those on the City Council, had advertised that they were looking to cut $1 billion from the NYPD’s operating budget, and much of that was switched to other departments for social service programs.

The NYPD last week told the Chronicle that it was committed to fulfilling its promise to the residents of Southeast Queens.

But the mayor and Council also agreed on more than $530 million in cuts to the NYPD’s capital budget, and the 116th Precinct proved to be too tempting a target.

And one of the most ardent proponents of police reform on the Council — Public Safety Committee Chairman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) — also was the biggest supporter of the precinct in City Hall.

“I voted against the budget,” Richards told the Chronicle in an interview.

See what they lost out on by caving.

Update:

See where all that money that was snatched from the 116th of which it's still being spent on the NYPD is actually going to. What is the "special expense"?

One thing's for sure, the city and the NYPD (and the protesters of Occupy City Hall) feels the residents of Southeast Queens lives aren't that special and don't matter much.

JQ LLC

 

Queens small businesses only got 9% of the city's SBS relief fund

Gothamist

While the outer boroughs have been disproportionately hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses in Manhattan have gotten the majority of assistance from the city.

According to the city's Small Business Services agency on Wednesday, around $8 million of the $20 million loan program for struggling small businesses has been disbursed, with 66 percent going to Manhattan-based shops. Bronx business owners have received less than one percent—around $80,000—while those in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island have received 18 percent, 9 percent, and 5 percent, respectively.

The figures, revealed by the SBS commissioner Gregg Bishop during a New York City Council Small Business Committee hearing on Wednesday, agitated chair and Bronx Councilmember Mark Gjonaj.

“One percent of the loans went to the borough of the Bronx and 66% went to Manhattan?” Gjonaj asked . “And we know that most of these small businesses exist in the outer boroughs, so already we see a huge disparity here on how these loans are being [disbursed].”

The program is part of a $49 million loan and grant program created by the de Blasio administration to serve as a lifeline to businesses struggling to remain open after the pandemic—$10 million in loans and $39 million in grants.

Of the $39 million in grants, $29 million has been disbursed; 3 percent has gone to Bronx and Staten Island businesses respectively, 16 percent to businesses in Queens, 25 percent to shops in Brooklyn, and 53 percent to businesses in Manhattan.

Cuomo's biggest and ugliest budget bill passes giving him more executive powers, more austerity cuts to Medicaid and stifles third parties from getting on the ballots

 

NY Post

Lawmakers granted final approval on Thursday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sprawling $177 billion budget for 2021.

The deal ended a months-long budget fight in Albany that went haywire in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the state — killing more than 2,300 and crippling the economy.

The document promises to touch on many facets of life in the Empire State such as: tightening eligibility for a key health care program for the poor, legalizing e-bikes popular with delivery workers, banning flavored e-cigarette products and tweaking the bail reforms rammed through in the last budget.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Westchester) addressed the state Capitol’s upper chamber, which was abandoned due to COVID-19 fears.

“As I look around this chamber, this nearly empty chamber, it really is surreal. For me, it’s chilling in many ways, it’s upsetting,” Cousins said.

“This is not a normal budget. It’s not even the budget we envisioned a month ago.”
Cousins’ Senate easily approved the final budget bills Thursday and the Assembly followed suit, though debate stretched into early Friday morning despite little doubt in the eventual outcome.

The budget foresees tax revenues plunging by at least $10 billion and OKed up to $11 billion in short-term borrowing to cover shortfalls while New York officials pray the feds provide more aid.

The budget crunch means that an expected $826 million boost in public education spending won’t happen — $321 million was supposed to go to the city’s schools.

New York City dodged one bullet as Cuomo abandoned plans to shift as much as $1.6 billion in Medicaid costs onto the Big Apple. Instead, Cuomo will take $200 million from the city and $50 million other counties for a “distressed” hospitals and nursing homes fund.

But other Medicaid changes outraged liberal lawmakers — especially the tightening eligibility rules for the state’s elderly and disabled to qualify for home care.

“Large numbers of frail elderly and people with disabilities will be deprived of home care by these restrictive standards,” said longtime Assemblyman Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan) who chairs the chamber’s healthcare committee. “This is unjustified cruelty.”

NY Post
  
Gov. Cuomo managed to get his controversial overhaul of the state’s election laws and campaign-finance regulations included in the sprawling $177 billion budget, effectively ending a court fight that had tied the proposal up for months.

The overhaul will make it significantly harder for third parties to maintain their lines on the ballot, including Cuomo’s bête noire, the liberal Working Families Party.

All political parties will now have to score at least 130,000 votes in a statewide general election to remain on the ballot, more than double the current requirement of 50,000. It also imposes new limits on New York’s famously loose rules for fundraising.

In exchange, candidates will be eligible to receive public funding for their campaigns.

The overhaul was first proposed by a panel commissioned by lawmakers and Cuomo in the 2019 budget, which included Cuomo ally and state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs.

The group issued their recommendations in November, which would have the force of law unless lawmakers vetoed them. However, the WFP and Conservative Party sued, claiming that Cuomo and lawmakers abrogated the proper legislative process, and won.

Governor Cuomo gets stingy with criminal justice reform

NY Post


District attorneys across the state slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday after he said law enforcement agencies don’t need more funding to implement new criminal justice reforms.

“I think they’ve gotten additional funding, and they’re getting additional funding, so no, I don’t think they need more funding,” Cuomo told reporters at an unrelated event in Albany.

“Everyone always says they want more funding. This year, funding is going to be very difficult.”
DAs have argued they don’t have enough funds to properly carry out the new discovery law — which goes into effect in Jan. 2020 and mandates a 15- to 30-day window for prosecutors and defense lawyers to exchange materials before an arraignment.

They’re seeking extra money for staff and technology upgrades.

“The governor’s unwillingness to appropriate funds for this unfunded mandate will only cause victims to be victimized again when prosecutors are unable to perform the basic functions of their offices,” seethed District Attorneys Association of New York President David Hoovler, a Republican.

“If the state refuses to fund ordinary costs related to the implementation of these new laws, the burden will then be on county budgets, who may be unable to pick up the slack.”

 Hoovler’s organization estimated the mandates could cost law enforcement agencies across the state upwards of $100 million.

Mayor de Blasio wants 10 billion dollars to save Downtown Manhattan from climate change

NY Daily News

Mayor de Blasio proposed extending the South Street Seaport area by two city blocks into the East River — part of a $10 billion effort to fend off rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

“We had to find something that would work, no matter how expensive or ambitious it was,” de Blasio said Thursday at a press conference downtown.

The plan, part of a resilience study released Thursday, calls for extending the shoreline by a maximum of 500 feet, or two city blocks. The new segment of the shoreline, which would be 20 feet or above current sea levels, would serve as a flood barrier during storms — but it could also be home to buildings, including potential private development, de Blasio acknowledged.

But it will be necessary to keep lower Manhattan from being underwater, he argued -- saying the city’s study had found that by 2100, 20% of the streets in area would experience daily tidal flooding, even in sunny weather.

“This is the existential threat. This is the core issue we all must face as aggressively as humanly possible,” de Blasio said.

 The plan, announced six years after Hurricane Sandy swamped the city, may sound familiar to some New Yorkers — in 2013, Mayor Bloomberg proposed a similar project dubbed “Seaport City.” That plan would have leveraged private development on the new land to pay for the massive expense of building it.

De Blasio said whether the new land would contain private developments depended on whether the federal government would pony up any cash for the plan.

 From the perspective of the City of New York alone, this would be extraordinarily difficult to fund. I think it comes down to simply this: if there’s federal money in play, it probably looks one way, if there’s not federal money in play, we have to get some private money and there has to be some development,” he said.


What happened to the affordable housing plan? What about emergency funding for NYCHA?

The mayor proves yet again where his priorities lie, with the real estate overlords. New development? If all those luxury towers around there are under threat now from accelerating sea level rise, why would you build more "private" development on the new shoreline

If there is a light side to this idiotic proposal, this ten billion dollar defense of luxury real estate from the effects of climate change seems to be inspired not only from de Blasio's obeisance to his biggest donors (obviously still) but from a mentally retarded female character from the classic comedy show Arrested Development.

NYS Pavilion getting some love from the Feds

From the Times Ledger:

The restoration effort of the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows Corona Park will receive more than $16 million in federal funding, according to U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

As announced on Nov. 26, the cash infusion will be used to repair and replace several electrical units at the World’s Fair Park and other areas which were severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

“The World’s Fair Pavilion is an enduring icon and it should be preserved and promoted for current and future generations,” Schumer said. “Now the pavilion is being restored and these federal funds will be used to repair damaged caused by Superstorm Sandy and help yet another community asset recover after the storm.”

The $16,468,030 grant was provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the New York Office of Management and Budget and will be used for repairs at the pavilion as well other storm-damaged areas of the park.

Halletts Point funding yanked by BDB

From Politico:

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration abruptly and inexplicably halted funding for an affordable housing project in Astoria last fall, months after he and the developer, Douglas Durst, had a public argument over campaign donations.

The city's Housing Development Corporation was planning to issue $43.5 million in financing for a 163-unit development that is part of the sprawling Hallets Point project Durst is constructing in Queens. This particular building is planned for tenants earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, which amounts to $51,540 for a three-person household.

But the corporation pulled it from its agenda just days before its Nov. 17 meeting and reallocated the bonding authority, POLITICO recently learned.

The shift doesn't only impact the building in question and the seven-building, mixed-income Hallets project. It also stalls Durst's agreement to spruce up the grounds of the New York City Housing Authority's Astoria Houses development on which the building would be erected, and retrofit four boilers.

"Three days prior to HDC board approval for our 100 percent affordable building's bond financing, we were notified that the bonds were no longer available to us," Durst spokesman Jordan Barowitz said on Tuesday. "We have not heard from City Hall since then, and until we do, the future of the project is unknown."

Asked for an explanation, a city spokeswoman said projects are competing for tax-exempt bonds that many fear are under threat from federal cuts. The financing tool is always, however, a limited resource sought by competing projects.

She also pointed out this particular project would support other market-rate apartments in the Hallet’s development, even though this building would be entirely for low-income tenants.

Why the MTA is so bad

From the NY Times:

...the problems plaguing the subway did not suddenly sweep over the city like a tornado or a flood. They were years in the making, and they might have been avoided if decision makers had put the interests of train riders and daily operations ahead of flashy projects and financial gimmicks.

An examination by The New York Times reveals in stark terms how the needs of the aging, overburdened system have grown while city and state politicians have consistently steered money away from addressing them.

Century-old tunnels and track routes are crumbling, but The Times found that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget for subway maintenance has barely changed, when adjusted for inflation, from what it was 25 years ago.

Signal problems and car equipment failures occur twice as frequently as a decade ago, but hundreds of mechanic positions have been cut because there is not enough money to pay them — even though the average total compensation for subway managers has grown to nearly $300,000 a year.

Daily ridership has nearly doubled in the past two decades to 5.7 million, but New York is the only major city in the world with fewer miles of track than it had during World War II. Efforts to add new lines have been hampered by generous agreements with labor unions and private contractors that have inflated construction costs to five times the international average.

New York’s subway now has the worst on-time performance of any major rapid transit system in the world, according to data collected from the 20 biggest. Just 65 percent of weekday trains reach their destinations on time, the lowest rate since the transit crisis of the 1970s, when graffiti-covered cars regularly broke down.

Only one post today, please take the time to read the entire article. It breaks down the issue perfectly.

Rockaway getting a funding boost

From the Daily News:

On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor de Blasio announced plans to spend $145 million on seven park projects to help protect the Rockaways from future floods.

The city will launch the projects – with federal approval – starting with rebuilding Bayswater Park. The work includes installing a berm along the waterfront, plus building sports fields, play areas and a kayaking spot.

The cash comes from $120 million left over from the $480 million the feds earmarked for rebuilding the Rockaway Boardwalk, which Sandy destroyed. The money can be moved to other resiliency projects in the neighborhood.

The city is kicking in another $25 million.

The Penn Station blues

From the Wall Street Journal:

Diverted passengers who face a grueling commute this summer because of rail disruption at New York’s Penn Station deserve discounted tickets on the Long Island Rail Road, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday morning.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Suffolk County board member later suggested such a discount could be up to 15%.

As Mr. Cuomo made his suggestion, during a news conference at Penn Station, the head of the MTA, which owns the LIRR, told a committee of the agency’s board in lower Manhattan that the MTA will withhold regular payments it makes to Amtrak for use of Penn Station and that the MTA will send Amtrak a bill for costs incurred by the disruption.

Amtrak, which owns and operates the Midtown Manhattan terminal, will reduce weekday rush-hour service into and out of the station beginning July 10. The outages are needed so that Amtrak can carry out extensive repair work to rails and switches following two low-speed derailments earlier this year.

From NY1:

City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is not mincing words when it comes to his opinion on the MTA's plan for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) riders this summer.

“I think it is ridiculous,” he said.

This week, the agency announced it would cancel or divert close to three dozen rush hour trains into and out of Penn Station while Amtrak does emergency track work. That means more LIRR trains originating or terminating at stations in Brooklyn and Queens, including Hunterspoint Avenue in Long Island City. Passengers there would then either take a ferry or transfer to the 7 train.

“To take Long Island Rail Road users and divert them to the 7 train is stupid,” Van Bramer said. “We know the service is unreliable as it is.”

From NY1:

A State Senator from Queens says taxing the rich is how to fund repair work at Penn Station.

Senator Michael Gianaris says his bill would require millionaires in New York to pay a three-year temporary state income tax surcharge. It would apply to those living in any county where the MTA operates.

Gianaris says it would generate close to $2 billion dollars for the MTA every year.

Hotel taxes would also see a new $5 fee on top of the already existing tax in the city.

Schumer asks for more funding for opioid enforcement

From PIX11:

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for federal help in the fight against opioid addiction in New York.

Schumer is asking the Drug Enforcement Agency to provide the state with one of four special heroin enforcement teams being formed to combat the problem. The four teams are specifically dedicated to counteracting heroin trafficking and are sent to states that report heroin as the highest drug threat.

The Democrat says New York's heroin overdose death rate increased by 30 percent in 2015. New data show there was an average of four overdose deaths a day in New York City alone last year. That was double the rate two years earlier. New York City also is a major distribution hub.

Overall, 24 New York counties are considered High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.

Queensbridge Park to get new parkhouse

From LIC Post:

Plans to overhaul the Queensbridge Park House were unveiled Thursday, with city officials announcing that $3 million will be spent on redoing the dilapidated space that has been out of use for decades.

The Park’s old field house, which was built in 1941, will be demolished and replaced by a new 15,500 square foot facility. The new field house will include a community room, an office area for Parks staff, a public restroom, and storage space for the park’s maintenance equipment. It will be also be surrounded by an outdoor plaza area complete with seating, bicycle racks and drinking fountains.

Work on the park is expected to begin in fall, with the project expected to take 12-18 months to complete.

NYS Pavilion to get $14M renovation

From the Queens Chronicle:

That stately space-age Flushing Meadows monument, the New York State Pavilion, will undergo a $14.25 million redesign project by the city and a team of design consultants. Construction is set to begin next spring and the design is underway now.

“The scope of the project includes structural conservation work on the observation towers, waterproofing of the tower bases, improvements to the electrical infrastructure and architectural lighting of the observation towers and the Tent of Tomorrow,” Parks Department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor emailed the Chronicle.

Before the modified monument will be open to the public, Lalor added, “significant” work will need to be done. Work on the pavilion, which is contingent upon a successful bid, is expected to begin next spring and end in fall 2019 after an 18-month process.

Pan Am contract request sums up de Blasio's debacle

Samaritan Village Demands More Funding by queenscrapper on Scribd

Well that didn't take long. Check out HRA's proposed contract extension for the Pan Am Hotel. The taxpayer trough is open and Samaritan Village has lined up.

They've been open for 3 years and have only managed to get 91 families to exit? And this should be continued for another 6 years? Also it's a good thing they are providing "recreational activities" but how about job placement?

NYC may stop getting some federal funds

From NY1:

The Trump administration is increasingly warning that if local law enforcement agencies don't cooperate with federal immigration officials, they could lose federal funding.

"A nation without borders is not a nation," Trump said.

It's been a Trump policy, signed in January in an executive order.

Attention lately is heightened after two Maryland high school students, including one here without papers, were accused of raping a classmate in a school bathroom. Henry Sanchez-Milian's lawyer says he is pleading not guilty.

Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill restricting how much local law enforcement can share with federal agencies.

"I would plead with the people of Maryland to understand that this makes the state of Maryland more at risk for violence and crime," Sessions said.

New York's rules limit cooperation with immigration agents. They don't end it. And its backers add the rules aren't just constitutionally sound, but make the city about the safest its been in generations.

Taking away federal funding jeopardizes that, they say. Not to mention, some of that money Trump is threatening to take helps protect his namesake tower.

Woodside to get $250K dog run

From Sunnyside Post:

Work is scheduled to begin this month on the long-awaited revamp to the dog run in Doughboy Park, according to the Parks Department.

Construction on the dog run in Doughboy Plaza, located on Woodside Avenue between 54th and 56th streets, is expected to be completed sometime this spring.

It will include improving access to the site and installing new steps, drainage, fencing and plantings, according to Meghan Lalor, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department.

Though Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer allocated $250,000 in funding to fix up the dilapidated dog run in 2013, the project was delayed for several years while the park was used as a staging area for construction on the neighboring school, P.S. 11.

$250,000 for a dog run? Really?