Velazquez Secures Over $3.2 Million for Community Projects

NEW YORK – Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez announced that she secured $3.2 million in federal funding for educational, economic development and environmental projects to benefit the community. The funding was secured in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bills.

“This funding will provide crucial support to our communities, helping to ensure their continued success and increased vitality,” Congresswoman Velázquez said. “By taking these steps, we have invested in the well being of our neighborhoods– from local healthcare needs, to educating our children to preserving our environment.”

Below is a list of the projects that Congresswoman Velázquez secured funding for:

Woodhull Hospital: $321,000 in federal funding for equipment to be used in a hospital based radiologic technology school.

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center: $400,000 for the development of a full service family practice medical office targeted for low-income residents in Brooklyn.

El Puente: $214,000 for an obesity, diabetes, STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention program aimed at adolescents and their families. The initiative also focuses on education about how to manage environmentally connected diseases, such as asthma.

Hudson Raritan Estuary – Gowanus Canal, New York, Environmental Restoration Project: $214,000 to continue the feasibility study for the environmental restoration of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal.

Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation’s Red Hook Green Roof Project: $250,000 for a project aimed at promoting the use of green roof design as a cost effective and viable strategy for increasing energy efficiency and reducing heat reflection that contribute to the greenhouse effect.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy: $282,000 to expand ongoing education and stewardship programs to teach at-risk youth about the waterfront’s history, habitat and ecology.

Project for Public Spaces: $235,000 for efforts to preserve and revitalize the Moore Street Market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Boricua College: $150,000 for supporting the renewal of improvements to the North Side campus, which houses a 3,669 square foot gym where intramural athletics are conducted.

Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC): $188,000 for the expansion of the council’s Arts in Education program for at-risk youth in public schools throughout Brooklyn.

Police Athletic League Miccio Center in Red Hook: $94,000 for youth programming, including education development and recreational programs in partnership with Red Hook Rise.

North Brooklyn Development Corporation and Creative Development Center: $94,000 for the center’s after school youth services.

Grand Street Settlement: $188,000 to provide two-years of support for the literacy-based multimedia programs of the Community Technology Center and the Computer Clubhouse, which serve 1,600 children, youth, adults and families annually.

Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN): $282,000 to fund a pilot initiative to educate Spanish-speaking Americans on financial literacy, small business development, homeownership and credit management issues.

Hamilton Madison House: $97,000 for programs and equipment for a social services program aimed at helping area adults and senior-citizens.

Chinese-American Planning Council: $195,000 to offer counseling, employment training, ESL education, vocational training, and placement assistance for unemployed and/or low-income residents.