Queens Poll: Strong Community Support For Metropolitan Park
To: Michael Sullivan
Fr: Douglas Schoen
Schoen Cooperman Research
Date: March 29, 2024
Re: Strong Community Support For Metropolitan Park
Overview
Schoen Cooperman Research has conducted interviews in English and Spanish with 600 registered voters in Queens, as well as an oversample in Senate District 13 of 250 registered voters (Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Corona), to measure support for the proposed Metropolitan Park project.
We found that there is overwhelmingly strong support for Metropolitan Park. Specifically:
● Strong Overall Support: After sharing details of the project and messaging on its benefits for the community, support exceeds 80% boroughwide and 75% in SD-13.
● Popular Elements: While all project elements tested are found to be appealing by large majorities of voters, the most popular elements of the project include:
○ New park space – 88% Queens-wide / 94% in SD-13
○ Good-paying permanent union jobs – 88% / 85%
○ Improvements to mass transit – 87% / 91%
○ A Queens Food Hall – 81% / 92%
These results are consistent with previous surveys conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research, showing a consistent trend of support for the project.
We also found that while State Senator Jessica Ramos is popular in her district, voters would be more likely to vote for Ramos in the future if she supports Metropolitan Park, and less likely to vote for Senator Ramos if she opposes the project.
Strongest Support For Park Space, Union Jobs, And Improved Mass Transit
Initially and without any specific project details, a majority of voters Queens-wide support the Metropolitan Park project (74%). With more information, they become even stronger supporters, exceeding 82%. In Senate District 13, 56% support Metropolitan Park without any specific project details and 75% when provided more information.
In terms of the top benefits, the most popular are park & recreation space, and the employment opportunities. Overall, every element of the project – including the Hard Rock hotel with a live music venue and casino gaming – enjoys strong majority support in SD-13 and boroughwide.
SD-13 Residents Want Senator Ramos To Support Metropolitan Park
State Senator Jessica Ramos is popular in her district with a 50% – 11% favorability/unfavorability rating and a 44% -15% job approval/disapproval rating.
However, residents of State Senate District 13 are much more likely than voters borough wide to say that there is a lack of entertainment options (65%), public parks (58%), and good paying jobs (77%) in their area. In terms of supporting job creation in the area, only 31% of SD-13 voters say that Senator Ramos has done enough, while 25% say she has not done enough and a full 44% are not sure about her record on job creation.
37% of SD-13 voters would be more likely to vote for Ramos in the future if she supports Metropolitan Park, compared to only 8% who would be less likely to vote for her if she supports it. Conversely, 31% of SD-13 voters are less likely to vote for Senator Ramos if she opposes the project, compared to only 14% who would be more likely to vote for her.
Methodology
Schoen Cooperman Research completed multi-language interviews with 600 registered voters in Queens and an oversample of 250 interviews with registered voters in State Senate District 13 between March 15-23, 2024. 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.
