Oct. 15, 2014 By Michael Florio
Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) will be breaking ground Thursday on its first healthcare center in Queens.
The new center is being constructed in the Court Square section of Long Island City, at 21-41 45th Road. It is expected to open in 2015.
The 14,000-square-foot facility center, like other centers, will offer abortions, breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing and treatment, and routine gynecological exams.
Planned Parenthood, a non-profit center, anticipates that it will serve 17,500 patients annually at the location.
In a statement, PPNYC said that thousands of Queens patients have to travel to other boroughs to receive its services.
“The new health center will strengthen our ability to provide Queens residents with the essential reproductive health care services they need,” said Joan Malin, President and CEO of PPNYC.
Planned Parenthood estimates that one in five women in Queens do not have health insurance.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer who allocated $750,000 of city funds to help bring the Long Island City facility to the area, said earlier this year that it was important to bring essential “healthcare for women and all new Yorkers” to Queens.
Malin said PPNYC selected this location because Court Square is accessible to subway lines.
Meanwhile, Life News, a news site catering toward the pro-life movement, was less than happy about the announcement. “Forty percent of Unborn Babies in New York City are Aborted, Planned Parenthood Wants More,” referring to the new facility.
The abortion rate in New York City has been falling. The Health Department reported that in 2012, 38 percent of viable pregnancies ended in “induced terminations.”
21-45 45th Road, Court Square
