Mayor Eric Adams announced the groundbreaking of a new 22,000-square-foot NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Community Health Center in Far Rockaway Tuesday morning.
Joined by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, City Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers and NYC Health + Hospitals leadership, Adams celebrated the start of construction at a ceremony on Feb. 25. The new facility will provide comprehensive healthcare services, addressing the needs of the growing Far Rockaway community.
The state-of-the-art community health center located at 1720 Village Ln. in Far Rockaway will provide care to over 19,000 community members. Residents can access primary care, specialty care, women’s health, dental, vision, podiatry, radiology, and mental health services. The Adams administration has contributed $30 million to cover the cost of retrofitting the space and providing advanced medical equipment. The center is expected to open in 2027.
Adams praised Richards and Brooks-Powers for their consistent advocacy for a community healthcare center for Far Rockaway residents. “Council Woman Selvena Brooks Powers has been fighting for this issue… we know the dessert when it comes down to Rockaway and Staten Island. We must come up with real ways to ensure they can get the health care services that they deserve and ensure that they don’t continue to be considered as the outer boroughs or the outer bounds of our healthcare system,” Adams said. “ They both pushed hard for this, and they wanted it to happen, and we are now seeing this actualized.”
Adams said he had a clear message when he took office: to change the healthcare system rather than feed into the healthcare crisis. The mayor stated that for too long, lack of access to healthcare services has been a barrier for underserved communities throughout the city, including the Rockaways. “The new center means families here in Far Rockaway will have things such as mammograms and reproductive care, it means knowing you won’t break your bank to stay healthy, and it means people do not have to go another day without the care they need.”
Adams said that he has a personal connection to chronic disease, as he referenced the reversal of his Type-2 diabetes diagnosis, adding that access to “healthcare shouldn’t be about luck, it should be about access.” “ We must address healthcare inequities across the five boroughs, especially in communities of color, and this is what this is about today,” Adams said.
Dr. Ted Long, NYC Health + Hospitals’ senior vice president of ambulatory care and population health, emphasized that the Gotham clinic addresses high chronic disease rates. According to Long, adults living in Far Rockaway have a one-third higher rate of avoidable hospitalizations than the rest of Queens and New York City. Much of this is driven by chronic disease, with adults living in Far Rockaway also having a one-third higher rate of diabetes compared to Queens and the rest of New York City.
“When the Department of Health has gone out to see what’s going on and done surveys, far too many people from your community have specifically said that in the past twelve months, they have had to go without the medical care they’ve needed.” Long said. “ Today, we are at this groundbreaking point to fix these problems and address the underlying health inequities that have plagued this community for far too long.”
Richards reminisced about advocating for a health center for Far Rockaway for the past twelve years, beginning as a city council member. “Finally, years after advocacy and negotiation, we now will have a New York City Health + Hospitals clinic right here in Far Rockaway,” Richards said.
Richards added that Rockaway residents have advocated for better healthcare access for years.
“For years, our Rockaway residents have been demanding better access to high-quality health care. For years, families here have dealt with higher rates of disease… this is what everyday New Yorkers are living with in this community, and then not even going to get the preventative care or care they really need,” he said. Today, we really are fixing that disinvestment. We’ve long suffered, but those days are gone.”
Richards shared the future services Rockaway residents will have access to once Gotham Health opens.
“This is where your kids will be able to see their pediatrician; this is where new moms can see their babies on an ultrasound for the first time… this is where you can get your cavities filled or your eyes examined, all that plus mental health services, cancer screenings, disease management and much more will all be available here,” Richards said.
Brooks-Powers, whose district covers parts of Far Rockaway, also expressed the importance of providing comprehensive healthcare for residents. “ For too long, our community has faced challenges in accessing comprehensive health care, and this center is an important step in closing that gap,” Brooks Powers said.
“This facility will provide primary care and mental health preventative care, all under one roof, ensuring that families in Rockaway have access to the quality services they deserve.”
Brooks-Powers added that investing in the healthcare facility is a step forward in meeting longstanding healthcare gaps in the Rockaways. “ We will continue to push forward for a level one or level two trauma facility on the Rockaway peninsula, and we’ll work in tandem with Mayor Adams’ administration on this critical mission. Together, we are building a healthier future for Rockaway.”
