Long Island City residents weigh in on downtown improvements

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – An open call for New York City revitalization projects kicked off in Long Island City, Queens on Monday.

The neighborhood was awarded $10 million by the state in February to strengthen the community’s commercial corridors. 

Karesia Batan has been living in Long Island City for 20 years. She said a lot has changed over the last two decades.

“There’s only more people moving in, and so our public spaces are getting more and more crowded … And we just simply need more public space,” she said.

A workshop was held so people could voice their opinions on what the $10 million should be spent on to improve the community. It’s all part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). 

Jeannette Rausch is a state revitalization specialist. She said the meetings are to learn the community’s priorities.

The process started in May and will last about six months. The end result is a strategic investment plan that the community presents to the state. The state reviews the proposals and then announces which projects will be funded.

During the workshop, a map of Long Island City was placed in the middle of the room so residents could write down their concerns and place a flag at the locations that need the most attention.  

“We need to include the presence of culture whether it’d be fine arts, entertainment arts, musical arts, plays, dance, ballet – that’s the kind of thing we need,” said Stephen Cooper of Long Island City. “We are near the bottom of public spaces in the city and so we really need to balance that out with the amount of people coming in the community”

There will be more public community engagement events for residents to voice their opinions. For more information, click here.