FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 26, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Variety Boys and Girls Club in Astoria gives teens head start in green careers
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Thirty-nine Astoria teenagers
from the Variety Boys & Girls
Club of Queens graduated from a
summer science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) program
where they learned about
electricity and renewable energy
and got a head start in green
careers.
Th e program is part of a New
York Power Authority (NYPA)
collaboration with 174 Power
Global and Con Edison to support
an under-resourced community
located near an upcoming
clean energy project.
“Providing energy-related education
better equips students to
compete academically and gives
them a head start in their careers,”
said Lisa Payne Wansley, vice president
of NYPA’s Environmental
Justice program. “NYPA always
strives to be a good neighbor to
the historically disadvantaged and
marginalized communities located
near our statewide facilities and
assets and we are excited to collaborate
with 174 Power Global
and Con Edison to engage more
young people in the clean energy
fi eld and to develop even more
meaningful programs and services
going forward.”
Last month, New York state
energy regulators gave the green
light to Con Edison and partner
174 Power Global to construct a
large battery system in Astoria at
the site of the old Charles Poletti
fossil fuel plant near the East River.
Henry Yun, the CEO of 174 Power
Global, presented a $15,000 donation
to the Variety Boys & Girls
Club as part of the graduation.
“We’re committed to supporting
programs that inspire the next
generation of STEM professionals,
and we are proud to partner
with NYPA and Con Edison in
supporting the great work of the
Boys and Girls Club of Queens in
STEM education and promoting
the opportunity for science-related
careers,” Yun said. “174 Power
Global is committed to providing
green economy jobs to the
local community, in particular at
a location that is close to our energy
storage project, and this STEM
program is a perfect fi t with our
mission of creating real change by
working together.”
Th e middle school students
spent fi ve weeks learning the
basics of energy production and
consumption through interactive
and animated lesson plans. Th ey
engaged in games and hands-on
learning opportunities to better
understand how electricity is generated
and transmitted and investigated
how diff erent renewable
energy systems will work throughout
the state such as wind technology
and battery storage.
Richard David, Con Edison’s
Director of Regional and
Community Aff airs in Queens,
noted that Con Edison has been a
supporter of the Variety Boys and
Girls Club for decades.
“We are developing a generation
of young people with the knowledge
and interest in STEM to help
lead us into a clean energy future
with cleaner air and water and better
health,” David said.
Students also learned about how
the upcoming battery storage project
in Astoria will be able to store
or release electricity on demand,
thus helping to support the integration
of new sources of renewable
energy like off shore wind,
hydro and solar generation to help
replace energy produced by fossil
plants. Former Councilman Costa
Constantinides, the author of the
city’s Green New Deal, stepped
down last winter to become CEO
of the Astoria institution.
“Th e Variety Boys and Girls
Club is so much more than a physical
space; it’s where young minds
come to grow,” Constantinides
said. “Programming like NYPA’s
fi ve-week STEM program gives
the kids hands-on experience with
career paths and subject matter
that is all around them, but not
necessarily accessible. Western
Queens generates roughly 60% of
the city’s power, and programs like
this show our local kids opportunities
to participate in the fast-growing
green energy sector they may
not have previously known about.”
He added that the donation
from 174 Global Power will go
toward expanding STEM programs
at the Variety Boys and
Girls Club.
Photo courtesy of NYPA
Dozens of Astoria teenagers graduated from a fi ve-week STEM course at the Variety Boys and Girls Club providing
potential career paths in green energy.
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