Variety Boys and Girls Club CEO Costa Constantinides (center) and representatives from the East River Energy Storage Project accept the inaugural Robust Community Partnership Award. Photo courtesy of Variety Boys and Girls Club.
May 22, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
A collaboration between the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ) and the team developing the gigantic East River Energy Storage Project has received a statewide community partnership award acknowledging exceptional efforts to gain support from the local community.
The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST), a non-profit which serves as an expert resource to energy storage-related companies, announced the collaboration as the winner of the Robust Community Partnerships Award at its inaugural Equitable Energy Storage Systems Awards last week.
The East River Energy Storage Project, meanwhile, is a 100 megawatt-battery project Developed by 174 Power Global (PG) under contract with Con Edison (Con Ed) on an industrial site on the East River owned by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), located at 17-09 – 31-03 20th Ave. in Astoria.
The project is part of New York City’s Green Economy Action Plan and will be able to power tens of thousands of New York City homes upon completion, becoming one of the largest battery storage installations in New York State.
The project scooped the inaugural Robust Community Partnerships Award in recognition of the project’s establishment of strong, trust-based partnerships with their local community.
NY-BEST noted that 174 Power Global, Con Ed, NYPA, Strategic Management and Constantinople & Vallone helped fund and staff annual programs with VBGCQ as part of the project.
The funding helped support STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) education, career mentoring and environmental engagement through hands on activities occurring throughout the calendar year.
Dr. William Acker, Executive Director of NY-Best, said collaboration and innovation represent an important part of NY-BEST’s efforts to advance battery and energy storage technology across New York State.
File photo NYCEDC
“Variety Boys & Girls Club and their partnership with the East River Energy Storage team exemplify the values and leadership essential for fostering enduring relationships that propel equitable energy storage initiatives forward,” Acker said in a statement. “Their unwavering commitment to community engagement and partnership has set a commendable benchmark for others in the industry.”
VBGCQ CEO Costa Constantinides said the award is an honor for Variety and a testament to community commitment of the companies involved in the East River Energy Storage Project. He said the partnership between Variety and the project would “create lasting benefits for our students that also cements strong relationships in the community.”
“Seeing construction start on the largest energy storage project in New York State is very rewarding and we look forward to a long-term alliance,” Constantinides said in a statement.
Joo Yoon, CEO of 174 Power Global, said the award was a reflection of the project’s investment in the youth of the local area.
“As we begin construction of the East River Energy Storage project to improve the resiliency of our grid, let us also continue to invest in the resiliency of our youth. Our partnership with the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens has been extremely rewarding,” Yoon said in a statement.
The East River Energy Storage Project, when fully functional, will be able to discharge electricity to the grid, especially during peak demand. Representatives of the project said this will particularly benefit New York’s “environmental justice communities,” which bear the worst repercussions from peaker plant pollution that contributes to chronic health disparities. The system will be enclosed in multiple containers totaling approximately 124,000 square feet at the East River site.
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