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During Queensbridge visit, Schumer calls on White
House to double investments in public housing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Congresswoman Grace
Meng announced on Wednesday,
June 9, that she has secured
nearly $20 million in
a key transportation and infrastructure
bill to upgrade
the Forest Hills Long Island
Rail Road (LIRR) station, create
vehicle charging stations
in Flushing and Bayside, and
replace medians in Oakland
Gardens that are in need of
repair.
The funding was included
in the INVEST in America Act,
a transformative five-year,
$547 billion surface transportation
reauthorization bill.
The measure is expected to be
passed later this afternoon by
the House Transportation and
Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.
It is then expected to soon
be passed by the full House of
Representatives.
Meng said she is thrilled to
secure funding for these crucial
initiatives in the INVEST
in America Act, and is looking
forward to the legislation being
approved by the House in
the coming weeks.
“Queens must not be forgotten
about as we invest in our
infrastructure,” Meng said.
“Restoring and expanding our
borough’s transportation system
is critical to meeting the
growing needs of Queens, and
these projects would improve
the safety of local residents
while making it easier and
more convenient to travel.”
According to Meng, the
projects would also strengthen
economic growth, save money
and enhance quality-of-life for
many constituents.
Under the project for the
Forest Hills LIRR station, located
at 71st Avenue and Austin
Street, nearly $17 million
($16,910,000) would be used to
address repair needs including
TIMESLEDGER | Q 22 NS.COM | JUNE 18-JUNE 24, 2021
the replacement of deteriorated
platforms. The project
would also provide those with
disabilities full access to the
station, making it compliant
with the Americans with Disabilities
Act. These accessibility
improvements include new
elevators and an extension
of the platform length to 12
cars, along with other station
upgrades.
Funding for the vehicle
charging stations in Flushing
and Bayside includes $734,400
for a Level 2 Electric Charging
Network in New York City
Department of Transportation
(NYC DOT) municipal parking
facilities. Specifically, the
money would be used to install
electric vehicle charging stations
in three municipal parking
lots: Flushing #2 parking
field at 135-23 39th Ave. in
Flushing; Flushing #4 parking
field at 134 Northern Blvd.
in Flushing; Bayside parking
field at 214-32 41st Ave. in
Bayside.
The level 2 chargers provide
about 7kW of power per
hour. This would add about 25
miles of range to a typical sedan
for each hour it is plugged
in. Under the median restoration
initiative in Oakland
Gardens, $2,355,200 would be
provided to restore the center
medians on Union Turnpike
from Hollis Court Boulevard
to 226th Street to a state of good
repair. The current medians
are in disrepair and need to
be reconstructed. The project
will also make accessibility
and geometric improvements
where needed.
Read more on
PoliticsNY.com.
BY BILL PARRY
Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer visited the
Queensbridge Houses in Long
Island City — the largest public
housing development in North
America — to urge the Biden
administration to double its
funding for public housing in
the American Jobs Plan.
Schumer joined community
leaders and called for an $80
billion investment in federal
public housing funds to remedy
decades of disinvestment,
bad management and federal
neglect.
“For far too long, our public
housing infrastructure needs
have been left unaddressed, left
to get worse, and have brought
serious harm to hundreds of
thousands of New Yorkers,”
Schumer said. “Lead in the bodies
of our children. Toxic mold
in the lungs of our friends and
neighbors. Leaky roofs. Dilapidated
playgrounds. Non-working
elevators. Unsafe environments.
Polluting and expensive boilers
and heating systems. The maddening
list goes on and on.”
The administration’s plan
calls for $40 billion for public
housing across the entire nation
when repairs in New York
City’s public housing system are
estimated to be $40 billion.
“However you want to put it:
public housing residents, and
NYCHA residents in particular,
are in need of some real help,
and this, right now, is a now-ornever
moment. We must repair,
upgrade and transform our public
housing so it is both livable
and sustainable,” Schumer said.
“One of my number one priorities
in any infrastructure package
is to double down on the
president’s original proposal
and fight for at least $80 billion
in new funds to meet the capital
repair needs of public housing
agencies across the country, especially
those of NYCHA.”
Bishop Mitchell Taylor, the
co-founder and CEO of Urban
Upbound, who has lived in and
around Queensbridge his entire
life, added that public housing
neighborhoods have been “overlooked
and underserved” for far
too long.
“With a $40 billion capital
deficit looming, help is not a
request, it’s a demand,” Taylor
said. “I implore President Biden
to increase funding for public
housing nationally.”
State Senator Michael Gianaris,
who represents the NYCHA
complexes across western
Queens, added that the city’s
public housing developments
have been systematically
pushed to the side, stripped of
funding and left to crumble.
Read more on
PoliticsNY.com.
Senator Charles Schumer urges the federal government to double
its proposed investment in public housing under the American Jobs
Plan. Courtesy Gianaris’ offi ce
Photo courtesy of Rep. Grace Meng’s office
Meng secures funding for series of
infrastructure projects in Queens
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