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Districts Roll In the Dough

Council Members Bring $ To Their Areas

Senior centers, youth programs, graffiti removal efforts and civic organizations in the Times Newsweekly’s coverage area will benefit from millions of dollars in discretionary funds allocated by Queens and Brooklyn City Council members in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, which took effect at the beginning of this month.

In all, over $3.5 million in funds were provided by City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley, Daniel Dromm, Karen Koslowitz, Diana Reyna, Eric Ulrich and Jimmy Van Bramer to assorted organizations in the budget; a full list can be downloaded at the City Council’s website, www.council.nyc.gov.

Of the six lawmakers covering neighborhoods in the Times Newsweekly’s area, Reyna brought home the most bacon, securing over $697,000 in discretionary funds for the 34th Council District, which includes parts of Ridgewood, Bushwick and Middle Village. Her total was about a half million shy of City Council Member Leroy Comrie of St. Albans, who was tops among the 51 City Council members in allocations.

The biggest recipient of funds within Reyna’s district was the St. Nick’s Alliance Corporation, which operates housing, health care, economic development and education programs within East Williamsburg. The organization will receive a total of $115,000 in grants from Reyna to provide their services.

In Ridgewood, the Greater Ridgewood

Youth Council (GRYC) will receive $30,000 from Reyna for its intergenerational programs, while two senior organizations-the Peter Cardella Senior Citizens Center and the Ridgewood Older Adult Center- were each provided with $20,000 in allocations for its operations serving elderly residents in the area.

The Greater Ridgewood Historical Society (GRHS), which operates history programs at the Vander Ende- Onderdonk House, was the recipient of a $15,000 grant from Reyna; the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation (GRRC) was also provided with a $15,000 earmark for its graffiti removal initiative. The Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps was also selected to receive a $15,000 grant.

Law enforcement groups in Bushwick and Ridgewood were also the beneficiaries of allocations from Reyna, including the 83rd Precinct Youth Council ($5,000) and the 104th Precinct Law Enforcement Explorers ($2,000). She also allocated $6,000 to the NYPD to hold a gun buy-back program in her council district.

Crowley secured just over $378,000 in allocations to organizations in the 30th Council District, which includes areas of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Richmond Hill and Woodhaven. According to the New York Daily News, she received the second-least amount of discretionary funding of all 51 City Council members, beating only City Council Member Norman Seabrook of the Bronx.

Tops among the funding recipients in Crowley’s district was Maspeth Town Hall, which was provided with grants totaling over $47,000 for its after-school programs for local children.

Ridgewood’s Cardella Center will receive $47,000 in funding from Crowley for its programs, which includes a meals-on-wheels initiative for homebound elderly residents. The Ridgewood Older Adult Center was also provided with a $20,000 allocation.

Crowley also provided $29,000 to the GRYC, $3,500 to the GRHS and $3,500 to the GRRC; she also allocated $3,500 grants to the Glendale/ 104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol (104COP), the Glendale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Middle Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

City Council Member Karen Koslowitz, meanwhile, secured $669,000-second only to Comrie in allocations among the Queens City Council delegation-for organizations in her 29th City Council District, which includes parts of Middle Village, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill.

Young Israel of Forest Hills was provided with $50,000 in earmarks for its programs for senior citizens and youths, while Koslowitz also secured $54,000 for the Doe Fund, which provides supplemental sanitation services along commercial strips. She also provided $12,000 to the city’s Sanitation Department for extra collection of public waste baskets in areas of Community Boards 6 and 9.

Queens Community House ($42,000) and Selfhelp Community Services ($41,270) also received grants from Koslowitz for senior and youth programs. Additional funding was also secured for various children’s programs including Maspeth Town Hall ($7,500), the Central Queens YM & YWHA ($20,000), Forest Hills Little League ($10,000) and the South Queens Boys and Girls Club ($3,500).

Big bucks will also be provided to organizations in Van Bramer’s 26th Council District, which includes parts of Maspeth, Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and Astoria. The lawmaker secured over $600,000 in discretionary funds for the area.

The biggest beneficiary in Van Bramer’s district was the Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement House in the Queensbridge section of Long Island city, which was allocated grants totaling $70,250 for its senior and youth programs.

Sunnyside Community Services also received a $40,000 allocation from Van Bramer for its activities for seniors and children, and the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce was also provided with $40,000 for a graffiti removal program. Woodside on the Move, which offers an array of educational and social services to residents of the neighborhood, will also receive City Council grants totaling $40,000.

Van Bramer additionally secured $50,714 for the YMCA of Greater New York and $36,975 for the East River Development Alliance.

City Council Member Eric Ulrich secured over $594,000 in discretionary fund grants for groups in the 32nd Council District, which includes areas of Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and the Rockaways.

Topping the list of funding beneficiaries in Ulrich’s district is the Forest Park Senior Center in Woodhaven, which will receive grants totaling $55,000 for its operations. Another $50,000 was provided by the lawmaker to the South Queens Boys and Girls Club.

The Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation (GWDC) was provided by Ulrich with allocations of $20,000 for a graffiti removal program and $10,000 for its day-to-day services. Ulrich also secured $19,000 for the Doe Fund for supplemental sanitation services on commercial roadways and $20,000 for the Sanitation Department to provide additional collections of public waste baskets.

Finally, Dromm secured over $582,000 in discretionary funding for the 25th Council District, which includes areas of Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Rego Park.

The biggest recipient of discretionary funds from Dromm was the Queens Community House, which was provided with $93,000 in grants for programs for seniors and youths. Another $60,000 was allocated to the Doe Fund for sanitation services in the legislator’s district.

The Lefrak City Youth and Adult Activities Association was also provided by Dromm with $29,964 for its programs for local children, and Make the Road New York secured $31,500 in grants for immigrant services.

For information on grants provided by the legislators to other organizations in their district, download the full Schedule C funding list on the City Council’s website.