Fiscal Year 2026 NY-07 Community Projects
The following Community Project Funding requests for Fiscal Year 2026 have currently been submitted by Rep. Velázquez (NY-07) to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations. Submission to the committee does not guarantee a project will be funded. Information regarding which requests were selected for funding by the committee will be announced as soon as it is available. The following projects listed below will proceed to the next phase of review.
Click here to view financial disclosures for each project.
1. Recipient: Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS)
Project: Workforce Development for Low-Income and Justice-Involved Residents
Request: $250,000.00
Account: DOJ - State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Justice Grants
Summary: The requested amount would support Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS) in offering holistic workforce development and intervention services focused on skills training, certification, work readiness, employment exploration, and supportive services that enhance the employability of low-income residents who are most likely to become justice involved or have higher rates of recidivism. The project is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will help prevent crime by creating economic advancement opportunities for low-income and at-risk New Yorkers. The program would encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs, to fill in-demand job positions and to contribute to the tax base while diverting justice involvement.
2. Recipient: Comunilife, Inc.
Project: Adolescent Suicide Prevention Activities
Request: $200,000.00
Account: DOJ - State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Justice Grants
Summary: Comunilife’s Life is Precious™ program seeks to provide suicide prevention activities, mental health services, and education, for at-risk teens and their families in Brooklyn, NY. Activities include academic assistance, licensed creative art therapy, and family therapy. The project is a good use of taxpayer funds because it will provide at-risk teens with the help they need to overcome self-injurious behavior that can result in limited social and educational opportunity. With adequate support from federal funding, Life is Precious™ will help reduce the teens’ likelihood of harming themselves or others and facilitate their integration into the community.
3. Recipient: Ozone Park Residents Block Association- Ozpkrba Inc
Project: Block Watchers Program & Safety Initiative
Request: $345,000.00
Account: DOJ - State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Justice Grants
Summary: The requested amount would be used by Ozone Park Residents Block Association- OZPKRBA, Inc. to conduct various activities that will enhance safety in the community. Such activities include holding seminars for at least 300 residents on becoming influential block watchers with the responsibility of identifying and reporting criminal activity, and coordinating NYPD-sponsored seminars to the community on how to work with the police and help reduce crime. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will help more residents engage in the surveillance and protection of their communities. This will help expand the reach and impact of police work. The Block Watcher Program will be a unique tool to reduce unlawful activities and other incidents that erode quality of life.
4. Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District
Project: Stormwater Environmental Infrastructure in Western Queens, NY
Request: $3 million
Account: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Summary: Environmental Infrastructure project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District to better manage storm water runoff and area flooding adjacent to Newtown Creek in the Long Island City and Blissville area of Queens, NY. The project will utilizing environmental infrastructure to manage, reduce, treat, or recapture stormwater and subsurface drainage water inundating the combined sewers. Appropriate techniques from the EI toolbox to be evaluated in situ and deployed, include rain gardens, infiltration basins, precast porous concrete and subsurface storm and sewer capacity upgrades. NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be a local sponsor supporting the environmental infrastructure and flooding project in the Long Island City area building on its extensive work in this part of Queens. Federal funding is authorized by Sec. 1304 Environmental Infrastructure of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024.
5. Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District
Project: Street End Improvements in Eastern Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
Request: $3 million
Account: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Summary: Environmental Infrastructure project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District to address stormwater flooding through Environmental Infrastructure (EI) at street ends in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be a local sponsor in cooperation with NYC Department of Transportation and NYC Economic Development Corporation. Funding for this project would help rebuild street ends at the Newtown Creek shoreline incorporating green infrastructure to address the excess runoff entering the creek and directly improve water quality by reducing sediment load, pathogens, and other contaminants. Apollo Street and Meeker Avenue are the closest access points to the waterway for the residential section of Eastern Greenpoint. Significant environmental hazards, including the Greenpoint Oil Spill and the Meeker Avenue Plume, have long plagued this historically working-class neighborhood. By mitigating water runoff, the project directly improves water quality, which benefits not only the aquatic ecosystem but also the public relying on the waterway. Federal funding is authorized by Sec. 1304 Environmental Infrastructure of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024.
6. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: NYCHA Ravenswood Exterior Lighting
Request: $21,000,000
Account: THUD-Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: The funding will support the installation of exterior security lighting for the entire public housing development at NYCHA Ravenswood Houses in Queens, New York to address safety and security concerns.
7. Recipient: NYC Department of Transportation
Project: Liberty Plaza
Request: $5,000,000
Account: THD- Highway General Fund Programs
Summary: This project will capitally construct the plaza installed in paint in 2013 on Drew Street between 101st Street and Liberty Street. This capital project will also reconfigure traffic circulation at Liberty Avenue and 101st Avenue to enhance safety for all modes. The plaza redesign will create a functional and vibrant plaza in a community with limited public space.
8. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: Cooper Park Exterior Lighting
Request: $5,200,00.00
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: Installation of security lighting throughout the complex to address safety concerns in the development. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it would benefit the residents of public housing living at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It would also benefit community members who live in the surrounding areas who walk through the NYCHA developments and will rely on exterior lighting to address any safety concerns.
9. Recipient: New York City Department of Transportation
Project: Woodhaven Boulevard
Request: $5,000,000
Account: THUD- Highway General Fund Programs
Summary: This project will implement capital improvements along Woodhaven Boulevard between 107th Ave and Union Turnpike to complement the existing operational SBS project. These capital improvements will include median widening, building out neckdowns, normalizing intersections and other features to increase safety and support the Woodhaven Select Bus Service.
10. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: NYCHA Whitman Houses Local Law 11 Brick Work (Building 15)
Request: $4,000,000.00
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: The project will help fix the deteriorating façade of Building 15 within NYCHA Whitman Houses and to remove the sidewalk sheds currently installed for resident safety. Therefore, the project would effectively tackle multiple safety concerns. With over 3,400 tenants spread across 15 residential buildings, the Whitman Houses, constructed in 1944, are in urgent need of extensive repair and maintenance work.
11. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: NYCHA Whitman Houses Local Law 11 Brick Work (Building 14)
Request: $4,000,000.00
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: The project will help fix the deteriorating façade of Building 14 within NYCHA Whitman Houses and to remove the sidewalk sheds currently installed for resident safety. Therefore, the project would effectively tackle multiple safety concerns. With over 3,400 tenants spread across 15 residential buildings, the Whitman Houses, constructed in 1944, are in urgent need of extensive repair and maintenance work.
12. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: Bushwick Houses Roof Tank Replacement
Request: $3,000,000
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: This project involves replacement of one or more rooftop water tanks, including related piping, pump controls, and any associated painting or improvements to rooftop structures. The detailed scope of work is determined based on the engagement of stakeholders and the specific design for the site. The old and deteriorated wood roof tanks has growing mold, vegetation and been prone to animal intrusion, putting water at risk of contamination. Therefore, projects to address and resolve the higher risk of health concerns should be prioritized.
13. Recipient: NYCHA
Project: Borinquen Plaza II Exterior Lighting
Request: $3,000,000
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: Installation of security lighting throughout the complex to address safety concerns at the development. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it would benefit the residents of public housing living at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It would also benefit community members who live in the surrounding areas who walk through the NYCHA developments and will rely on exterior lighting to address any safety concerns.
14. Recipient: New York City Department of Transportation
Project: Repaving of Broadway from Concrete to Blacktop Project
Request: $5,000,000
Account: THUD- Highway General Fund Programs
Summary: In its current condition, the concrete roadway of Broadway has reached the end of its useful life with numerous cracks, holes, and irregularities requiring full reconstruction to remove the concrete and replace it with composite roadway (standard asphalt). NYC DOT has received many requests from the community and local elected officials to reconstruct and bring the roadway up to a good state of repair.
15. Recipient: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Project: GMDC 1155-1205 Manhattan Avenue Bulkhead Replacement, Brooklyn, NY
Request: $5,000,000
Account: THUD- Economic Development Initiatives
Summary: GMDC is currently seeking funding to replace 370 linear feet of bulkhead along the northern side of its 1155-1205 Manhattan Avenue facility at the Newtown Creek (located in NY-07, represented by Representative Nydia Velazquez). The bulkhead represents a long-term liability to the industrial complex and the community itself as the replacement project has now become urgent. In addition to creating construction and engineering job opportunities, replacing the dilapidated infrastructure will reinforce the industrial complex’s role as a long-term home to small manufacturing businesses by retaining industrial jobs for workers of non-traditional backgrounds. In the facility managed by the non-profit GMDC, there are over 70 businesses and 360 people currently working in the building, of which 90% reside in New York City and 95% reside in New York State. Supporting this essential infrastructure at this economic development project and ensuring it continues to serve the community – both the neighborhood and business community – is important to New York City Department of Small Business Services.