The next Town Hall held by the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association will occur at noon on Saturday, November 15. The WRBA is asking residents to bring toys to donate to Toys for Tots, and also to come prepared with ideas for the participatory budgeting brainstorm that will occur at the meeting.
The Town Hall, which will be held at the American Legion Hall (89-02 91st Street), will kick off Woodhaven's second year of inclusion in participatory budgeting. Councilman Eric Ulrich has earmarked a million dollars that will be allocated to projects that residents vote for. Residents will come up with the options on the ballot, and the WRBA Town Hall will be Woodhaven's first chance to propose ideas. To make the final ballot, ideas must be for physical, tangible projects that cost at least $35,000.
The Town Hall will also be a chance for Woodhaven residents to donate toys for the annual Toys for Tots run to St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children in Bayside, Queens. Each November since 1999, the East Coast Car Association has a "toy run" featuring more than 100 cars and motorcycles—many of them classics—which begins at the Forest Park Bandshell and concludes at the hospital. All toys donated by residents will end up in the hands of children at the hospital. To learn more about the toy run, click here.
Donated toys should be new and unwrapped. No stuffed animals, please. Those who wish to donate at a time other than the Town Hall can do so between now and November 15 by dropping the toys off at the WRBA office (84-20 Jamaica Avenue) or, if it's closed, at Spirare Cleaning & Tailoring just next door.
"This Town Hall will be a chance for our residents to make two kinds of contributions," said WRBA President Martin Colberg. "They can contribute their ideas to help make their community better, or they can contribute toys to help make the lives of children better. We hope the many generous people in Woodhaven will do both."
