City awards $26.4 million to complete
Queens Museum’s expansion project
BY BILL PARRY
The city has allocated
$26.4 million to complete the
expansion of the Queens Museum
in Flushing Meadows
Corona Park.
The project will create a
dedicated children’s museum
space focused on art and culture
in Queens, expand the
museum’s classrooms, provide
secure artwork storage
and improve the facility’s energy
efficiency.
“As we begin to look past
the economic, social and
health crisis of COVID, perhaps
no better investment
can be made than investment
in our local cultural infrastructure,
to elevate spirits,
support families, revitalize
our economy and showcase
our faith in the future
of the city of New York and
New Yorkers,” Queens Museum
President and Executive
Director Sally Tallant
said. “We could not be more
grateful to the de Blasio administration
for sharing this
vision with us; together, we
will deliver a multilingual,
intergenerational arts and
culture learning center — a
Queens Children’s Museum
— as part of the completion
of the Queens Museum.”
The mayor announced the
funding Wednesday, Sept. 22,
as part of his City Hall in Your
Borough program in Queens.
He visited the Queens Museum
in March to celebrate
the community initiatives
implemented to support the
growth and recovery of art
and cultural institutions
across the city during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Queens Museum is a
world-class institution, and
this funding will help them
grow and develop their footprint
in Queens and throughout
the city,” de Blasio said.
“Arts and culture are not just
the key to our recovery from
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the allocation of more than $26 million in funding to finish the Queens Museum expansion project.
COVID-19, they are the key to
nurturing the talent, curiosity
and creativity that will
keep New York City the most
vibrant city in the world.”
Throughout the pandemic,
the Queens Museum remained
connected and committed to
some of the most impacted
communities through a variety
of hyperlocal initiatives.
Since June 2020, the museum
has been running a Cultural
Food Pantry in partnership
with La Jornada to fight food
insecurity.
With the support of more
than 70 volunteers, it has
distributed fresh and nonperishable
food items to
more than 30,000 families in
Corona. The museum also
TIMESLEDGER | Q 20 NS.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 7, 2021
helped Queens artisans remain
resilient by launching
Hecho Local, a free product
development workshop series
geared toward Spanishspeaking
craft-makers that
helped them create a sustainable
business model.
“For nearly 50 years, the
Queens Museum has been
an instrumental cultural
institution in our borough,
and with recent local initiatives
like the Cultural Food
Pantry and the Hecho Local
product development workshop,
maybe even more so
during the COVID-19 pandemic,”
Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer said. “With the
addition of new classrooms
and a multilingual Family
Art Lab, among other
improvements, this funding
will ensure the Queens Museum
remains an integral
staple serving our diverse
communities for generations
to come.”
In 2013, the Queens Museum
completed the first phase
of its expansion project,
bringing an additional 50,000
square feet of galleries, event
spaces, educational areas
and visitor amenities.
The second and final
phase includes the new classrooms
which will allow the
museum to accommodate additional
school trips and educational
programming.
“As both the Queens borough
president and the father
QNS fi le photo
of a young child, I could
not be more excited to have
worked with our partners to
turn the Queens Museum’s
longtime dream of a space
dedicated to our borough’s
kids into a reality,” Queens
Borough President Donovan
Richards said. “From
its first-of-its-kind Queens
museum for children to the
many other improvements
this critical funding will
support, the Queens Museum
will see its already tremendous
legacy continue to grow
in the years to come.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
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