Kaushal Challa, executive chief officer of the Charles B. Wang
Community Health Center, said the facility will remain open and be
a part of the public health response to COVID-19.
Photo courtesy of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | APRIL 24-APRIL 30, 2020
BY BILL PARRY
Northeast Queens Councilman
Paul Vallone will introduce
a resolution Wednesday
calling on Congress and
President Trump to expand
the CARES Act and Payroll
Protection Program to include
considerations for housing
cooperatives and condominiums,
allowing them to access
critical PPP loans processed
by the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
The White House and Congress
appear to be close to a
$470 billion relief package that
would replenish funding in
the PPP for small businesses
that were left out of the initial
round of the bailout.
“As our city persists
through the COVID-19 crisis,
we must protect a cornerstone
of our local communities,”
Vallone said. “Our co-ops and
condos provide a vital affordable,
middle-class housing option
to hundreds of thousands
of our New Yorkers. The next
iteration of the Payroll Protection
Program must extend
this lifeline to our cooperative
and condominium owners
and tenants, who too are facing
immense hardship paying
their essential workers and
maintaining other critical operating
expenses during this
public health crisis.”
The PPP provides cashflow
assistance through 100
percent federally guaranteed
loans to employers who maintain
their payroll during the
COVID-19 pandemic and if
employers maintain their payroll,
the loans are forgiven.
Similar to small businesses,
cooperative and condominium
owners and tenants are
facing a number of hardships
including declining revenues
from shareholders who have
lost their jobs, declining rental
income from commercial
tenants and vacant apartments
that are unsold due to
the current market. Many
also report the inability to pay
their essential workers, which
will undoubtedly hurt tenant
populations, many of whom
are homebound seniors.
“This week I sent a letter to
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin
and SBA Administrator Carranza
urging them to make
residential housing cooperatives
and condominium associations
eligible for Payroll
Protection Program loans
under the CARES Act,” Congressman
Tom Suozzi said. “I
fully support Council member
Vallone and the rest of the
City Council in their efforts
to ensure the financial stability
of the thousand of housing
cooperatives and condominiums
throughout the New York
metropolitan area.”
The President’s Co-op &
Condominium Council, an
organization located in New
York City representing more
than 100,000 units of affordable
cooperative and condominium
housing units, has issued
a letter to Congressional
leadership in support of the
Vallone resolution.
“Co-op shareholders in
New York City have been especially
hard hit by the coronavirus,
both medically and
financially,” President’s Co-op
& Condominium Council General
Counsel Geoffrey Mazel
said. “Many affected co-ops
are located in Queens, the
epicenter of the epicenter. The
PPP loan would provide muchneeded
relief for these hard-hit
housing cooperatives.”
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Charles B. Wang
Community Health Center
in Flushing has been awarded
federal funding to help
respond to the COVID-19
pandemic, Congresswoman
Grace Meng announced last
week.
The facility, located at
136-26 37th Ave., received
more than $1.6 million
($1,669,415) to provide assistance
and care for COVID-19,
and to address staffing levels
during the public health
emergency.
“Like many others in
New York and across the
nation, the Health Center is
critically short in capacity
and funding,” said Kaushal
Challa, executive chief officer
of the Charles B. Wang
Community Health Center.
“At this especially trying
time, the funding we received
from the CARES Act
will help us face the challenges
of this health crisis.”
The nonprofit health center
will remain open and be
a part of the public health response
to COVID-19, according
to Challa.
The funds are allocated
under the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief and Economic
Security (CARES) Act, which
was the third COVID-19 relief
package that was passed
by Congress and signed into
law late last month.
Meng, who voted for
the legislation, said she is
pleased to see that funding
from the CARES Act is making
its way to her congressional
district.
“The Charles B. Wang
Community Health Center
does an exceptional job in
providing critical health
services in our borough,
and this needed funding
will help the facility better
serve Queens residents during
this crisis,” Meng said.
“I will continue to fight for
more resources as we work
to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
I thank all of the dedicated
health care staff at the
Charles B. Wang Community
Center who are working
on the frontlines in order to
continue serving patients.”
Meng also announced
more than $4 million
($4,147,220) in CARES Act
funding for the New York
City Health and Hospitals
Corporation, which operates
the city’s public hospital
system.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Councilman Paul Vallone introduced a resolution urging Congress
and President Trump to include co-op and condo owners in
COVID-19 relief funds. Courtesy of City Council
Vallone calls on Congress
to include co-ops, condos
in CARES Act package
Flushing health center
gets $1.6M in funding
At this especially trying time,
the funding we received from
the CARES Act will help us face
the challenges of this health
crisis.
Kaushal Chalia
Executive Chief Officer of Charles B.
Wang Community Health Center
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