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.