U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Manhattan members of the House of Representatives, today announced they secured over $33 million in funds for Manhattan as part of the final omnibus funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.
The senators secured a total of $33,156,473 for projects across the borough, including educational programs and facility upgrades at Hunter College and Pace University, equipment upgrades at cultural sites such as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the Metropolitan Opera, and improvements to health care access and services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem and Northside Center for Child Development.
“I’m proud to bring these investments that I fought to secure to our Manhattan communities,” said U.S. Senator Gillibrand. “These funds will bolster cultural sites that make our city special, such as the Metropolitan Opera; enhance learning experiences at our higher education institutions, like the City University of New York (CUNY) and Yeshiva University; and upgrade the borough’s health care facilities to help provide affordable, accessible and quality care.”
Organizations receiving funds include:
· Pace University ($5,000,000)
o Funds will be used to transform the base of the east side of Pace University’s Lower Manhattan campus at One Pace Plaza and turn the building into a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center.
· Lexington Armory (Army National Guard) ($3,580,000)
o Funds will go toward planning and design for the Lexington Avenue Armory Rehabilitation project, which will support the full renovation and rehabilitation of the Armory in FY24.
· New-York Historical Society / American LGBTQ+ Museum Partnership Project ($3,000,000)
o Funds will support an expansion of the New-York Historical Society’s current building on the Upper West Side. The expansion will house the American LGBTQ+ Museum, a new museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and culture. It will also provide N-YHS with new gallery and classroom spaces, greatly expanding its ability to provide crucial education services to students, teachers, and scholars.
· City College of New York ($2,200,000)
o Funds will go toward the Charles B. Rangel Center for Infrastructure Workforce Training project, which will train students for construction and operations across multiple infrastructures, transport, energy, communications, water and wastewater, food, health in built environments with emphasis on digital skills for advanced forms of project management, system supervisory control and operations management.
The program will focus on both entry-level positions and career paths for students, as well as community-based recruitment of trainees and multi-media learning to facilitate the success of nonacademic learners.
· NYU Langone Hospitals ($2,000,000)
o Funds will be used to purchase new energy efficient ambulances.
· Yeshiva University ($1,500,000)
o Funds will be used to restore Yeshiva University’s Lamport Auditorium, a premier community gathering and events space.
· NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem ($1,500,000)
o Funds will go toward replacing all aging ultrasounds throughout the facility with ones that are state-of-the-art. NYC Health+Hospitals/Harlem is the largest hospital in Central Harlem, providing health care services to the residents of Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx.
· American Museum of Natural History ($1,500,000)
o Funds will help create the Museum’s next space show in the Hayden Planetarium.
· Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce ($1,115,000)
o Funds will support the Small Businesses Public Safety Educational and Information Initiative, providing training to help struggling small businesses and related not-for-profit community-based organizations better survive the multiple challenges and economic losses presented by ever-growing public safety issues and concerns.
· Grand Street Settlement Community Center ($1,100,000)
o Funds will go toward capital improvements, including full interior renovation, upgrades to fire and life safety systems, heating and air conditioning systems, energy efficiency upgrades, security improvements, plumbing improvements, accessibility alterations, program space improvements including new and expanded Early Head Start classrooms, and related equipment, labor and materials, within Grand Street Settlement’s 80 Pitt St. Community Center.
· Abyssinian Development Corporation ($1,000,000)
o Funding will go toward the expansion of the Culturally Responsive & Affirming Social Emotional Leadership (CRASEL) Project, which trains stakeholders to meet the social emotional needs of underserved students.
· Dominican Women’s Development Center ($1,000,000)
o Funds will help the Dominican Women’s Development Center provide a comprehensive educational program that includes access to STEM classes, college-bound services, Basic Education in the Native Language (BENL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), GED preparation, and civics/citizenship classes.
· YMCA of Greater New York ($1,000,000)
o Funding will enable the YMCA of Greater New York to continue to serve local communities through time-tested Y programs, such as aquatics, family activities, youth sports, afterschool care, and senior services and build up the Y’s workforce at all 23 branches and two YMCA Counseling Services sites.
· The LGBT Center ($856,000)
o The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) will use these funds to purchase an energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to replace the hot water heating and condenser cooling systems installed in 2001. The HVAC system will provide climate control for The Center’s entire 30,000 square foot building, which is utilized by 300,000 Center visitors and program clients annually.
· City University of New York Dominican Studies Institute at The City College of New York ($809,092)
o Funds will go toward the creation of a Historical Legacy Initiative, which will create cultural and historical curricula and enrichment programs for K-12 students in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, as well as training and faculty development programs for educators. It will use inputs from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library and CUNY DSI’s Archives, Library, and Research Unit to produce educational training and resources that promote and preserve the cultural and historical legacies of Latinos in the U.S.
· Literacy Inc. (LINC) ($800,000)
o Funds will support LINC’s early literacy programs, including a community literacy model and partnerships to distribute books and literacy information to families.
· Hunter College ($792,000)
o Funding will go toward the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) for the development of a learning and creative hub to serve the Harlem community. CENTRO will use the funds to equip its space with the necessary technology to foster robust community use, deepen existing partnerships with New York City public schools and libraries and build new collaborations, and improve curricula.
· Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. ($750,000)
o Funds will go toward upgrading the Metropolitan Opera’s fire alarm system. When it was built in the 1960s, the Met had a fire alarm system installed that met the then-current 1938 NYC Building Code, but the historic venue needs to upgrade to a new 2014 NYC Building Code-compliant fire alarm system.
· Hudson River Park Trust’s Hudson River Habitat Enhancement Project ($750,000)
o Hudson River Park Trust will use the funding to perform marine habitat enhancement and conduct research within its designated Estuarine Sanctuary, including scientific monitoring to determine which enhancement techniques provide the greatest ecological uplift and conditions for successful reef generation.
· National September 11 Memorial & Museum Memorial Pools Energy Efficiency Retrofits ($700,000)
o Funds will be used to retrofit North and South pool lights with LED bulbs, which will significantly reduce energy usage at the memorial pools, extend the lifespan of the lights, and reduce utilities costs. Both pools commemorate the names of nearly 3,000 killed in the attacks on September 11, 2001 and the World Trade Center bombing of February 26, 1993.
· National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy ($500,000)
o Funding would go toward the New Day at Federal Hall project. The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy will purchase 6-10 museum and preservation quality display cases that will protect items from Federal Hall’s collection, as well as visiting documents and artifacts from other collections that it is poised to acquire.
· Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. ($500,000)
o Funding will support CPC’s AAPI Health & Outreach initiatives in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. This project will address the increased needs brought about by the pandemic, including the growing health and mental health needs of Asian American families and the rise in anti-Asian violence facing Asian American women and seniors. With federal funds, CPC will expand and continue:
o Health and mental health outreach and education through culturally competent, language-appropriate supports that ensure community access to on-site and in-house mental health specialists.
o Services and referral navigation for seniors, low-income families, and youth to facilitate access to local networked CBOs like Charles B. Wang, Hamilton-Madison House and other partners specializing in behavioral health, family counseling, and more.
o Neighborhood services to combat anti-Asian violence and support victims of hate crimes, working with partners like the Mayor’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, New York Police Department, elected officials, and Black, Brown, and Jewish groups.
· Northside Center for Child Development ($500,000)
o Funds will go toward expanding the behavioral health services Northside provides to children and families living in poverty in New York City. The services Northside currently offers include the Behavioral Health Clinic, Early Childhood Mental Health, Clinic in Schools, and the Special Needs Unit.
· Institute for Family Health ($411,381)
o The Institute for Family Health, one of the largest federally qualified community health center networks in New York State, will use these funds to enhance its efforts to prevent opioid overdose deaths in underserved communities in New York City. The Institute will strengthen outreach, education and care navigation in communities with disproportionately high rates of opioid overdose.
· Partnership to End Addiction ($293,000)
o Partnership to End Addiction seeks to bring telehealth and mobile helpline services to more Black parents and caregivers living in New York State whose children (of any age) are struggling with substance use disorder.
The project will entail:
o Initiating a discovery and engagement process with leaders and organizations in New York’s Black communities to identify needs and effective communication strategies;
o Creating, acculturating and curating content of value for this population; and
o Sharing this content through family support channels in collaboration with the partners identified through this process.