The community gardens at MS 217Q in Briarwood and the Pomonok Community Center mean a lot to their neighbors. During Earth Week, we were presented with great opportunities to beautify both spaces, with the community and for the community.

On April 19, children from our after-school program at MS 217Q and volunteers from Dentsu teamed up to create artistic pieces for the MS 217Q garden, paint plant pots, clean the space, and plant seeds. "We teach the children why sustainability is important for their generation, and they also see for themselves the importance of the garden to Briarwood when families pass by the garden to get vegetables, so they were excited to be so hands-on with improving the garden for the community," said Daquan Mashburn, QCH Afterschool Program Director at MS 217Q.

On April 20, Home Depot's Community Action Team visited our Pomonok Community Center to renovate our Older Adult Center and improve the green spaces. "The green spaces hadn't been beautified for five years, so our participants loved seeing the cleaned and refreshed upgrades that make the Center more inviting and community-friendly for them and their peers," said Patrick Pinchinat, QCH Pomonok Center Director.

Know your rights, folks! All year, our Eviction Prevention program helps low-income individuals and families who are at risk of eviction and homelessness maintain their permanent housing. One of the services we provide in this effort is ensuring residents know their rights and options as tenants, so that they can speak up and stand up for themselves. On April 6, QCH partnered with Communities Resist, a non-profit that fights to protect low-income tenants in NYC from displacement and gentrification, to provide a Tenants’ Rights Workshop at the Forest Hills Community Center. Individuals and families across the borough stopped by to learn about their rights as tenants, eviction prevention, what to expect in housing court, and more. During the workshop, attendees also had all of their housing questions answered by an attorney from Communities Resist. "We've had participants who attended our workshops and were able to follow step-by-step how to prevent their families from being evicted afterward," said Marisol Moore, QCH Assistant Director of Housing and Community Support Programs. "Partnering with Communities Resist for this workshop allowed us to also connect residents directly with an attorney to ensure they have access to up-to-date guidance on the court experience."

We are excited to be having our annual Celebrating Local Heroes reception on the iconic stage of the Forest Hills Stadium on May 24 at 6pm! This stage has welcomed music legends like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. Join us for a cocktail reception and an opportunity to meet your neighbors and community stakeholders while honoring two local trailblazers.

Tickets to support the event will benefit thousands of children, youth, adults and older adults in Forest Hills/Rego Park and throughout Queens. Click here to purchase your ticket!