La zona de asfalto alrededor del Citi Field es parte de un proyecto de reconstucción auspiciado por Steve Cohen, su propietario. Foto Javier Castaño
El sondeo fue hecho por la firma Schoen Coperman y aquí presentamos los resultados oficiales de una encuesta de opinión pública acerca de lo que la comunidad desearía ver en los 30 acres de terreno que ahora ocupa el parqueo del estadio Citi Field en Queens.
Según los resultados, el 70% de los participantes opina que en el lugar se debe construir algo “nuevo”. Asimismo, el 78% de los participantes expresó que apoya un proyecto de re-imaginación del terreno, que incluya áreas recreativas verdes, un pabellón gastronómico, un hotel con sala de conciertos y casino, espacios para organizaciones comunitarias e instalaciones de atletismo, conexión a la costa, mejoras al sistema de transporte y estacionamiento, y miles de empleos bien compensados.
Este sondeo es importante ya que es el primer estudio oficial de opinión pública, que refleja el sentir de la comunidad sobre el futuro del espacio que ahora es usado como parqueo durante la temporada de béisbol solamente. Asimismo, es la primera vez que el público se expresa específicamente sobre uso de hotel y casino.
A continuación la información en inglés de la encuesta de opinión sobre el proyecto del Citi Field:
Overview: Understanding & Engagement Leading To Greater Support
Schoen Cooperman Research has conducted interviews with registered voters in Queens to better understand the perceptions and support around different ideas to reimagine the 50 acres of asphalt around Citi Field.
The main takeaway from our findings is that there is very strong support boroughwide for building something that improves upon the space surrounding Citi Field. The majority of respondents were already aware of the discussions around reimagining the area around Citi Field in Queens, and even before being told potential ideas or concepts, 70% of respondents agreed that “something new should be built” on the site. Just 18% said “it should be kept as 50 acres of asphalt.” Support for pursuing a project increased to 78% after respondents were given greater detail about the key elements of the project being contemplated. Those key elements included public green space, a Queens food hall, a hotel with a live music venue and gaming, community space and athletic fields, new connections to the waterfront, improved public transit and parking, and thousands of good paying jobs.
Significantly, as outlined below, we found that the project’s inclusive and proactive approach to engaging the community and soliciting feedback is having a substantial positive impact. The fact that the Queens community has had an active role in the process, with the NGW team interacting with over 12,000 residents of the neighborhoods around Citi Field, in larger community listening sessions, smaller group meetings with community and non-profit groups and 1×1 in-person interactions over the last few months led respondents to be more likely to support the project.
Individual elements of the potential future vision are also extremely popular with Queens residents. The most popular benefits of the project include access to public green space, local job creation, and improved public transit and parking infrastructure.
Furthermore, we found that a majority of respondents (65%) are more supportive of the project if it includes a hotel with a live music venue, casino gaming, and conference spaces. Respondents are even more supportive of gaming as an element of the project when they learn more specific features of a casino. This is significantly stronger than similar polling from Siena, which last year found just 53% of NYC voters supported downstate casinos, and in January found support for a Manhattan casino was only at 38%
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of respondents were more likely to support the project with gaming as the necessary economic engine, which we believe is recognition that 365-day entertainment and recreation options is the best way to draw people to the area year round.
Positive Impact From Community Engagement
Over the past 18 months, the New Green Willets team has made significant effort to engage the local community and hear their insights and feedback on what they hope to see from any vision for the area around Citi Field. The NGW team has held over 200 meetings with community leaders, in addition to 15 community workshops that were attended by over 1,000 local residents.
This inclusive approach is having a significant positive impact on community perceptions.
Respondents overwhelmingly said that learning about these community engagement efforts made them more likely to support the project.
● 78% of respondents said that the “15 community workshops have been held with 1,000’s of local residents to gain input into the details of the proposed project” made them more likely to support the project.
Methodology
Schoen Cooperman Research completed multi-language interviews with 600 registered voters in Queens from April 7-14, 2023 on behalf of New Green Willets. Respondents were reached using random selection procedures and the poll utilized a mixed methodology of live phone, text-to-web, and online interviews. The margin of error for the main sample is +/-4% at the 95% confidence level.
