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Read the press release here.

Dog Run and Rooftop Playground on Ballot for $1M in Funding

 Building a dog run in this lot under the Triborough Bridge is one of the 18 projects that residents can choose to fund.
Building a dog run in this lot under the Triborough Bridge is one of the 18 projects that residents can choose to fund.
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DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

ASTORIA — Would you prefer a dog run under the Triborough Bridge or a playground on top of P.S. 166?

Residents in Councilman Costa Constantinides' district will be able to pick their favorite of 18 neighborhood projects this spring, part of an effort to let voters decide how to spend $1 million in capital budget funds.

People suggested their ideas at a series of participatory budgeting sessions last fall that were held throughout the district, which includes Astoria and parts of Elmhurst, Woodside and Jackson Heights.

Come April, they'll be able to vote for their top five out of the 18 projects that made the ballot, the councilman's office announced Friday.

The choices include allocating $500,000 for a dog run under the Triborough Bridge in Astoria — something neighborhood dog owners have been pushing for — or a $100,000 for a rooftop playground on top of P.S. 166 on 35th Avenue.

Also on the ballot is the option of putting $400,000 towards building a pedestrian plaza at Newtown Avenue and 33rd Street, an idea that was originally proposed a few years back but was voted down by Queens Community Board 1.

Another choice is giving $500,000 to build a community playground at I.S. 126, where community members have been campaigning for upgrades to the current space, which they describe as little more than a concrete lot.

Residents in the district can vote for their favorites between April 13 and 19, and projects with the most votes will win funding, up to a combined total of $1 million. Voting will take place in-person, though the voting sites have yet to be finalized, according to the councilman's office.

"For the first time, anyone in the district can directly make decisions about how taxpayer money is spent," Constantinides said in a statement.

Other options on the ballot include funding a dog run on 78th Street and 30th Avenue in Jackson Heights, renovating the basketball court at the Astoria Houses or renovating the science lab at P.S. 70.

A sample of the ballot and all 18 projects can be seen here.