BY T’NEIL GOODEN
Queens Community Board 1, which covers Astoria, Woodside, and some parts of Long Island City, congregated on Nov. 19 to speak about the fiscal year budgets of 2025 and 2026. This meeting was held one day after the committee held its monthly public hearing, during which the public was able to share their concerns, from infrastructure to vandalism.
Community Board 1 Chairperson is Evie Hantzopoulous, who was elected in February, and led the meeting around the budget that has been finalized since June 30th. Hantzopoulous explained that the budget included personnel services (PS) and other than personnel services (OTPS).
Personnel services are given to community boards from the city’s overall expense budget, meant to cover the costs of staff, including salaries and benefits. Other than personnel services are for operating expenses, like supplies and equipment.
“A percentage of variance is 87% [for personnel services], which means that we spent 87% of what was budgeted, and if it is 150% [for other than personnel services], it means we spent 150% more than what was budgeted,” Hantzopoulous told the audience.
These were the final budget numbers for the fiscal year of 2025, but the board did earn revenue from one thing within the 2025 year: street festivals. The revenue earned from street festivals within the western Queens area during the year allows for “When there is a budget cut, so that the employees of the office do not have to be fired,” said Florence Koulouis, the District Manager of Community Board 1.
The street festival revenue is seen as a “security blanket for the community board,” said Koulouis.
Community Board 1 is one of the “lowest boards” in the Queens community to return money to save for possible budget cuts. “Other [Queens] boards return much more money than we do. We’re very low compared to other boards. You can’t get dangerously low because if anything falls through, you don’t have the funds,” said Koulouis.
After a rough ending to the 2025 season, the board looks to 2026 to build its funds and the attention given to its OTPS needs. OTPS needs for the 2026 season include: Queens Gazette Facebook, Belaire Printing, 4imprint, and Schneps Media, to name a few. The discussion on OTPS quickly moved on when no one raised any concerns.