U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Bronx members of the House of Representatives, today announced they secured approximately $18.3 million in funds for the Bronx as part of the final omnibus funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.
The senators secured a total of $18,291,005 for projects across the borough, including educational programs at Hostos Community College of CUNY, improvements to health care access and facilities at Montefiore Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals – Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, and building construction at cultural centers like the New York Botanical Garden and the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
“I’m proud to deliver this funding to our Bronx communities,” said U.S. Senator Gillibrand. “These funds will not only help preserve and build up tourist hubs like the New York Botanical Garden and cultural centers like the Universal Hip Hop Museum, but will also go toward upgrading the borough’s health care facilities to help provide affordable and accessible quality health care.”
“I’m proud to bring home over $18 million in federal investments to support Bronx residents and the community,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. “These funds included in the federal budget bill will fund health care initiatives, including the construction of a Maternal and Child Health Center, continue the construction of The Universal Hip Hop Museum, provide technical assistance for businesses, renovate New York Botanical Garden’s operations center, and expand a community facility for Emerald Isle Immigration Center. I won’t stop fighting to deliver the resources needed to better our communities and the organizations that help them flourish.”
“I am proud to help deliver over $18 million for The Bronx. For far too long, The Bronx has been under resourced, Democratic leadership is guaranteeing that is no longer the case. The fiscal year 2023 federal budget includes funding to Build Back The Bronx and redistribute power to historically marginalized communities. This was a collaborative effort to deliver for working families across The Bronx, investing in neighborhood health, education, climate justice, and arts programs, and making our communities stronger,” said Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). “Together we successfully delivered historic funding to local communities to build a healthier and more prosperous future for the families who call the Bronx home.”
“For too long, the federal government has failed to support Bronx constituents, especially Black and brown communities who have been victim to redlining, displacement, environmental injustice, and neglect. It gives me hope that together we were able to bring over $18 million in federal funding to go to powerful projects across the borough,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (NY-16). “Our communities deserve to be celebrated and these projects will help improve the lives of those across the Bronx. From supporting the Emerald Isle Immigration Center to investing in new health facilities, the Bronx is going to thrive from these incredible investments.”
“I’m grateful to my colleagues in the New York Congressional Delegation who I worked with to help deliver these crucial and transformational investments for the people of the Bronx — my home,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres. “This funding will help us improve quality of life and health outcomes, address long overdue needs, and create new opportunities for our communities.”
Organizations receiving funds include:
- Universal Hip Hop Museum ($5,000,000)
- The Universal Hip Hop Museum, currently under construction at Bronx Point and scheduled to open in 2024, plans to use its funding to help support its interior fit out and for K-12 educational programming. As the only state-chartered educational museum focused on the preservation and celebration of hip hop culture and music, the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s mission is to celebrate and preserve local and global hip hop to inspire, empower and promote understanding.
- NYC + Hospitals / Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Services ($3,000,000)
- As the only safety net public hospital in the South Bronx, Lincoln Hospital treats more than 20,000 patients per year admitted for inpatient or ICU care. This funding will go toward replacing 200 end-of-life hospital beds.
- Urban Health Plan, Inc. ($2,106,950)
- Funds will be used for renovations and upgrades to the St. Lawrence Community Health Center, including the restructuring of the intake area and triage department to make the management of patients more patient-friendly. Funds will also be used for upgrades to roofs, lighting, elevator and signage at three Urban Health Plan sites.
- New York Botanical Garden ($2,000,000)
- The New York Botanical Garden plans to completely renovate and restore the outdated operations yard into a 21st century Worker’s Operation Center. This will help fulfill the daily work needs of the Garden’s core workforce, which helps maintain NYBG as an open, accessible, and safe urban sanctuary for over 1 million annual visitors.
- Mosholu Preservation Corporation ($1,179,000)
- This project will provide support for business technical assistance, allowing Mosholu Preservation Corporation to work one-on-one with businesses to bring them into the 21st century.
- Hostos Community College of CUNY ($1,000,000)
- Hostos Community College plans to strengthen and expand its current dual/joint degree programs known as “articulation agreements” with four-year colleges and universities. This includes existing partnerships as well as new ones that will ensure students receive high-quality opportunities to continue their education and pursue advanced degrees in high-demand fields.
Current partnerships include articulation agreements with City College of New York (CCNY) in Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering programs, an Arts Administration degree program with Queens College, a NextGen Public Health Scholars program with Columbia University, and a proposed Game Design / Technology program with CCNY that is in the final stages of reaching an articulation agreement.
- Hostos Community College plans to strengthen and expand its current dual/joint degree programs known as “articulation agreements” with four-year colleges and universities. This includes existing partnerships as well as new ones that will ensure students receive high-quality opportunities to continue their education and pursue advanced degrees in high-demand fields.
- New York Sun Works ($800,000)
- Funds will be used to bring hydroponic farm-classrooms to public schools in the Bronx. The funding will provide hydroponic equipment and supplies to create classroom labs, as well as a curriculum, comprehensive training and weekly support.
New York Sun Works will provide inquiry-based science and sustainability education that’s aligned to New York City and New York State science standards and tailored to how students learn best: through hands-on, active learning. As they grow food from seed to harvest, students will study core science disciplines, water conservation, and climate change, and gain essential skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration, building a foundation for future pathways in STEM and sustainability careers and closing the race-based gaps in access to STEM education.
- Funds will be used to bring hydroponic farm-classrooms to public schools in the Bronx. The funding will provide hydroponic equipment and supplies to create classroom labs, as well as a curriculum, comprehensive training and weekly support.
- Montefiore Medical Center ($750,000)
- Funding will be used for start-up costs associated with establishing satellite behavioral health clinics in schools located in high need and underserved areas. Clinics will address the mental health needs of school-age children, offering comprehensive mental health treatment, including individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, psychiatric assessment, medication management, teacher consultation, outreach, community referral, and crisis intervention.
- Save the Sound Hutchinson River Watershed Plan ($700,000)
- Save the Sound proposes to develop a watershed plan for the Hutchinson River watershed in The Bronx, New York, using the EPA Nine Element (9E) Watershed Management Plan approach and incorporating components of resilience and flood planning. The goal is to restore the river so that people from all walks of life can once again safely enjoy fishing, swimming, and boating, and that wildlife can thrive in clean, healthy waters.
- Union Community Health Center ($675,000)
- The funding will go toward the construction of a Maternal and Child Health Center (MCHC), will be built on the ground floor of UNION’s 2021 Grand Concourse location, in a building now being completely renovated. This location comprises 3,800 sq. ft. and allows for easy street-level access for mothers with strollers and carriages. Inside, five pediatric exam rooms, one OB/GYN exam room, one pediatric dental chair, and one behavioral health consultation space will collectively set a new standard for integrated Maternal/Child Health services.
Access to health care and vital resources, starting before birth and extending throughout life, is the first step to overcoming generations of systemic racism. UNION’s proposed comprehensive MCHC will focus on eliminating the racial and health equity disparities impacting women and children in one of the nation’s poorest congressional districts.
- The funding will go toward the construction of a Maternal and Child Health Center (MCHC), will be built on the ground floor of UNION’s 2021 Grand Concourse location, in a building now being completely renovated. This location comprises 3,800 sq. ft. and allows for easy street-level access for mothers with strollers and carriages. Inside, five pediatric exam rooms, one OB/GYN exam room, one pediatric dental chair, and one behavioral health consultation space will collectively set a new standard for integrated Maternal/Child Health services.
- Emerald Isle Immigration Center ($330,055)
- The Emerald Isle Immigration Center is engaged in a much-needed renovation and expansion of its Katonah Avenue community facility. This federal funding will be used to match and complement the funds already raised from other sources to complete the project, which will double the community program space, make all four floors fully accessible to seniors and families, and allow Emerald Isle to continue to provide critical free legal aid to immigrants and a range of social and support services for the Irish Diaspora.