$30.5M Earmarked For UES Improvements — Here's How It Will Be Used

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — More than $30.5 million will be invested in Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island schools, parks, libraries and neighborhood improvements after the New York City Council approved the city's fiscal year 2027 budget Tuesday, East Side officials said.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Virginia Maloney, who both represent different parts of the Upper East Side, said they secured the discretionary funding package, which includes more than $23.3 million for capital projects and another $4.3 million for local nonprofit organizations and community programming.

"This budget demonstrates that we can make smart, responsible investments that strengthen our neighborhoods and improve New Yorkers' daily lives," Menin said.

Among the largest investments is $5.25 million to build a long-awaited public restroom in Carl Schurz Park near East 87th Street.

The budget also includes $5 million to renovate Kaufmann Concert Hall at 92NY, $4 million for HVAC and facade repairs at the 67th Street Library and $3 million to renovate the Metropolitan Museum of Art's East 83rd Street entrance.

"As part of the City’s $125.8 billion budget, we secured more than $30 million in targeted investments for the Upper East Side, including funding to modernize public school classrooms, upgrade playgrounds and park infrastructure, improve ADA accessibility, renovate library spaces, and support local cultural institutions and nonprofit organizations," Maloney said.

Local public schools will also receive funding for renovations and technology upgrades.

Projects include bathroom renovations at P.S. 158 Bayard Taylor and M.S. Yorkville East Middle School, rooftop drainage improvements at the High School of Art and Design, classroom repairs at P.S. 198 and P.S. 77 Lower Lab Schools, and science lab upgrades at Talent Unlimited High School.

Samuel Seabury Park is slated to receive $800,000 toward reconstruction of its large playground, while district libraries, including Webster, Yorkville, 67th Street, 96th Street and Roosevelt Island, will receive technology upgrades.

The budget also allocates funding for public safety improvements, including continued HVAC renovations at the NYPD's 19th Precinct and new remote-operated firefighting technology for the FDNY.

In addition to capital projects, Menin and Maloney said every public school on the Upper East Side will receive at least $50,000 for technology, auditorium or infrastructure improvements.

Another $680,000 will support after-school programming through the city's Cultural After-School Adventure Initiative.

More than $4.3 million was also earmarked for neighborhood nonprofits and cultural organizations, including Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Friends of the East River Esplanade, Carnegie Hill Neighbors, the Frick Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asphalt Green, the Carter Burden Center, Manhattan Community Board 8 and the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, among others.

The budget also dedicates more than $685,000 to neighborhood cleanliness and maintenance efforts. Funding includes supplemental sanitation services, rat mitigation, composting programs, graffiti removal and additional trash collection through the Department of Sanitation, ACE and local neighborhood organizations.

"We’re making concrete improvements that residents will see and feel in their daily lives," Maloney said.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.