Gentile secures $8 million in funding to fix parks
Councilman Vincent Gentile, the longest serving member of the City Council, used his clout to secure millions of dollars from the city budget for repair projects for parks in his district, along with funding to increase sanitation collections on local streets.
Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst), who was first elected to the council in 2003, has the most seniority of any council member in terms of the length of service. During budget negotiations, he worked closely with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to ensure that his council district would get some of the gravy.
The new city budget went into effect on July 1.