The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association logged 81 complaints and raised over $500 on its first "311 Day."
The 311 Spring Cleaning and Fundraiser was held on Saturday, March 31. It was a coordinated effort by Woodhaven residents to improve their neighborhood by calling 311 and filing requests for City agencies to address local problems. Many individuals and businesses pledged donations for each 311 request logged.
The donations will benefit the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The WRBA will present the Corps with the collected donations at our next Town Hall meeting on April 21, 1 p.m. at the Ambulance Corps's headquarters (78-15 Jamaica Ave.).
"We're always looking for new ways to help our members engage with and better the neighborhood," said WRBA President Edward K. Wendell. "Our first 311 Day was clearly a successful experiment. Not only will Woodhaven be much cleaner and safer, but the Ambulance Corps will come out ahead too."
The majority of the 311 calls were requests for graffiti cleanup on homes. Potholes and dangerous conditions were also popular reasons for logging complaints.
One of the findings from 311 Day is that practice makes perfect—that the more 311 requests you make, the more quickly you can make them. By using specific wording, for example, a caller can log a graffiti complaint in less than four minutes.
The WRBA plans to follow up on each complaint and release periodic progress reports to evaluate how well the city responds to Woodhaven's needs. The first progress report will be issued at the beginning of June.
"If dozens of Woodhaven residents took just a few minutes every week to call something in to 311, we would get the attention we need for so many issues that should be addressed," said WRBA Secretary Arlene Annunziata. "If you see graffiti, or illegal signs, or a broken sidewalk, you can make a huge difference with very little time. Call 311 and then send the request number to the Block Association so they can follow up."
To share a 311 request number with the WRBA, e-mail info@woodhaven-nyc.org or call us at 718-296-3735.
