You are reading

Rep. Meng Secures Nearly $10 Million for Local Queens Projects

Congresswoman Grace Meng (Office of Congresswoman Grace Meng)

March 15, 2022 By Allie Griffin

Congress Member Grace Meng has secured nearly $10 million in federal funding for local projects throughout Queens, she announced last week.

Meng earmarked a total of $9,579,000 for 10 borough projects through a new government spending package the House passed Wednesday night. The legislation is expected to pass the Senate and soon be signed into law by President Joseph Biden, according to Meng’s office.

The funding Meng secured will support renovations and programs at Elmhurst Hospital, Queens Hospital Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center as well as a new wastewater testing project at Queens College and adult education programming at Make the Road New York among other initiatives.

“I am incredibly pleased to have fought for and obtained this important funding for my district,” Meng said in a statement. “This money will go a long way toward making Queens healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient.”

Meng, together with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, secured $3 million for Elmhurst Hospital to create private rooms in its delivery unit for mothers and their newborns.

She secured another $800,000 for Elmhurst Hospital to create a transcranial magnetic therapy suite, which will provide mental health treatment services to patients.

Meng also earmarked $1 million for Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica for the hospital to build an outpatient dialysis center.

In addition, she obtained $750,000 for Flushing Hospital Medical Center to help the center launch a women’s imaging suite to promote early cancer detection and other diagnostic services.

The congresswoman also secured $1 million for the Flushing and Ridgewood YMCA youth and community development programs and $1.85 million for Queens College’s Wastewater Epidemiology Training Laboratory to develop strategies to detect dangerous pathogens, including coronaviruses, in wastewater.

Meng allocated $531,000 for a second science-based program that is operated by the Waterfront Alliance. The money will support the organization’s hub for climate resilience project in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  

She earmarked another $400,000 to Make the Road New York for adult education services, such as civic courses, for local immigrant New Yorkers and $233,000 to the Ohel Kissena Boulevard Residence Rehabilitation Project in Kew Gardens Hills to upgrade its facilities for the developmentally disabled.

Lastly, Meng secured $15,000 for Selfhelp Community Services — which has locations in Flushing, Bayside, Maspeth and Forest Hills — for nutrition and emotional wellness activities for local seniors.

The congresswoman said she was looking forward to the spending package becoming law.

“As we continue recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must build back stronger and ensure we have the resources that our communities need and deserve,” she said.

email the author: [email protected]

One Comment

Click for Comments 
Nisa

Thank you Congresswoman Meng!
Another Prolific Law Maker, Securing Funds and Services for her Community!!

1
1
Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Longtime Queens jurist named chief administrative judge of New York State Unified Court System

Judge Joseph A. Zayas, who spent most of his judicial career presiding over Queens’ courtrooms, was officially installed as chief administrative judge of the New York State Unified Court System, the highest-ranking administrative position in the state judiciary.

Judge Zayas was appointed by Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and approved by the Administrative Board of the Courts to succeed Judge Tamiko Amaker, who served as the court system’s acting chief administrative judge since December 2022.

“Judge Zayas has a stellar reputation for his keen judgment, hard work, integrity and deep knowledge of both the law and the complex workings of the New York State court system,” said Chief Judge Rowan. “He has demonstrated exceptional leadership and the highest ethical standards over the course of his distinguished judicial career. He is a forward-thinking, hands-on manager as proven throughout his tenure as administrative judge for criminal matters in Queens County, where he implemented numerous reforms and programs to improve the delivery of justice.”

The chief administrative judge supervises the daily administration and operation of the Unified Court System, which has a budget of $3.3. billion, with 3,600 state and locally paid judges and nearly 15,000 non-judicial employees in over 300 courthouses spanning 62 counties.

Queens Symphony Orchestra performs at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach

Councilwoman Joann Ariola brought the Queens Symphony Orchestra to Russo’s on the Bay on May 22 for the Night at the Opera – a free concert event that drew more than 200 people to the Howard Beach events hall located at 162-45 Cross Bay Blvd.

“It was truly an honor to continue funding such a wonderful program, and to bring this great music to so many people,” Ariola said. “We were able to bring so many people together for a free night of music – that’s what this is all about, letting taxpayer dollars work for the taxpayer, and providing programs like this that give our residents a nice night out to just unwind and enjoy themselves.”

Advocates pen letter blasting Mayor Adams’ legal motion to suspend right-to-shelter

Homeless advocates penned a letter to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ recent legal motion calling for the suspension of the city’s decades-old right-to-shelter law amid the ongoing migrant influx.

The letter, sent last Thursday and released Tuesday, comes in response to Adams last week filing a court motion to exempt the city from its legal mandate — established by the 1984 Callahan v. Carey consent decree — to provide shelter to single adults and adult couples when it “lacks the resources and capacity” to do so. The mayor and top administration officials say they’re not seeking to abolish the right-to-shelter, but rather “clarity” from the court that would give them more “flexibility” in finding suitable housing for tens of thousands of migrants.

Rockaway’s piping plovers among endangered species commemorated on U.S. Postal Service stamps

A day before the city reopened nearly 70 blocks of public beaches along the Rockaway peninsula for the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Postal Service and National Park Service hosted a special event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel to honor the piping plover, an endangered shorebird featured on new stamps.

In attendance were members of the NYC Plover Project, a nonprofit with more than 250 volunteers, who have been on the beaches since March preparing for the summer swim season, who celebrated the newly released stamp sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

Bayside High School hosts annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair

Bayside High School hosted its annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair Friday. Students from the Career and Technical Education Humanities and Nonprofit Management program each pitched their socially responsible products to students, staff and others in attendance.

Each of the 11th grade students in the program have been taking a college credit course from Farmingdale State College called Social Entrepreneur. The students were divided into 17 groups of five and tasked with coming up with innovative ideas to create businesses while also being socially responsible. The Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair grants them with the opportunity to work on pitching their products to potential customers.

Annual Memorial Day ceremony held at Korean War memorial in Kissena Park

On Friday, May 26, the second annual Memorial Day Ceremony in Kissena Park brought live music, local dignitaries, veterans groups, a presentation of the Colors by members of the Francis Lewis High School JROTC, a flower-laying ceremony and more to the Flushing community.

Those in attendance included Councilwoman Sandra Ung, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, state Senator John Liu, veterans groups, local students, Boy Scout Troop 253 and others.