Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ) Tuesday to announce $5 million in state funding for the youth club’s new state-of-the-art clubhouse, which will make Variety the largest boys and girls club in the country.
Variety is slated to break ground on the new clubhouse in December, converting its current headquarters at 21-12 30th Rd. into a sprawling 125,000-square-foot facility featuring a regulation pool, a gymnasium, a teaching kitchen, a theater, and what will become the first planetarium in Queens.
Variety, which has served Western Queens since 1955, currently provides programming for more than 4,000 children and teens each year at its current headquarters, but the $293 million redevelopment will allow the club to serve up to 16,000 children annually.
The project also includes a 236-unit, carbon-neutral affordable housing development, with 69 units reserved for youth aging out of foster care, as well as a dedicated children’s mental health center. Additional features include a 1,500-seat arena and a 400-seat school, further integrating community services with educational and recreational programming.
Hochul’s $5 million investment is part of the Governor’s getting kids offline and providing them with resources to further their development.
Hochul joined Variety CEO Costa Constantinides, Assembly Member and Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, State Sen. Mike Gianaris, State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards at VBGCQ on Tuesday to announce the funding.
The funding means that the construction portion of the new clubhouse is now 100% funded, according to Constantinides.
The current clubhouse is set to shutter for good on Dec. 19, with the youth club’s programming moved to a number of satellite locations in the area. The clubhouse is expected to be demolished in April or May next year, Constantinides said, paving the way for the construction of the state-of-the-art building, with completion targeted for early 2028.
Constantinides said the development will essentially begin once the current clubhouse shuts its doors in December.
Hochul said Tuesday that she would “never stop fighting” to ensure that children have the tools they need to succeed, also pledging to help build more housing that communities need across the state.
“This investment will ensure that the Boys & Girls Club can expand its services for tens of thousands of Queens families — and it’s part of my ongoing work to deliver a brighter future for families all across New York,” Hochul said in a statement.
Gonzalez, who secured $1 million in funding for the new clubhouse earlier in the year, said the new facility will help support tens of thousands of children and working families in Astoria and the surrounding area.
“The Clubhouse model has promising evidence-based outcomes including increased high school program completion and enrollment in higher education,” Gonzalez said.
Mamdani praised Hochul for investing in Astoria, stating that Variety’s new clubhouse will be transformative for the neighborhood.
“We are talking about the marriage of affordable housing with a place for children to play and also for them to dream and explore not only their city, not only their country, but even their world,” Mamdani said in a statement.
Constantinides, meanwhile, said the investment will help ensure that 16,000 children per year have access to the necessary tools to become the “leaders of tomorrow.”
“We are incredibly thankful for the $5 million she has provided, especially because it allows us to move forward with breaking ground at the end of this year,” Constantinides said. “Once it’s completed, this will be the largest Boys & Girls Club in all of the United States that all New Yorkers can be proud of.”
Constantinides previously said VBGCQ’s programs will be temporarily relocated to a nearby senior center and four partner schools while the new clubhouse is under construction, stating that the only service the organization will not be able to provide during construction is its current swimming services.
