On November 5, over 200 were in attendance for Queens Community House’s (QCH) Open House at our newly renovated Forest Hills Community Center. Families, youth, children, older adults, past and present QCH participants and staff, and Queens neighbors across the borough stopped by to celebrate the reopening of the Center. People of all ages got to see how the space has been transformed to benefit the Queens community.

The Open House had a jampacked lineup including a mariachi band, program presentations, a tour of the Center, an ideas generation session for NYC’s first-ever participatory budgeting process, a youth basketball tournament, information stations encouraging people to Get Out The Vote and "Flip The Ballot" for the November Election, free flu and covid vaccinations courtesy of Community Healthcare Network, balloon artists, refreshments, small bites, ice cream, games, and more.

After we purchased the Forest Hills Community Center in December 2020, we underwent a massive project to renovate the space to turn our most active program site into a state-of-the-art facility that can continue to be there for Queens for years to come. “The purchase of the Center presented us with the opportunity to modernize the building’s infrastructure, add lounges, counseling rooms, and areas for intergenerational activities, and make the entire building more open and accessible, said QCH Executive Director Ben Thomases. “The improvement of and addition to these program spaces is critical to meet the needs of the communities QCH serves throughout the borough of Queens.”

On November 10, QCH partnered with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and the NYC Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) to host an Idea Generation Session at Queens Borough Hall for NYC’s first-ever participatory budgeting process. Also known as “The People’s Money”, this process allows New Yorkers age 11 and up to have a voice in deciding how to spend $5 million of mayoral expense funding. The borough-wide session at Queens Borough Hall was the last of our recent series of Idea Generation Sessions that we’ve been hosting the past two months as the Queens borough anchor for the CEC’s campaign.

During the sessions, QCH participants and neighbors were invited to brainstorm ideas for creative projects that meet the needs of the borough. “This participatory democracy helps further QCH's mission of building healthy and inclusive communities across Queens,” said Thomases. “When ordinary community members have a direct say in how their tax money is spent, everyone benefits.”

Projects are developed into ballot proposals, which will be voted on by residents in each borough. Winning projects will then be implemented starting in July of 2023.

Some ideas we’ve heard from neighbors during our participatory budgeting sessions:

• “We need free, accessible arts and music programs (either during the school day or after school) in Queens public schools.”
  
• "We need to feel safe in the street at night. There are no street lights in my neighborhood."
  
• “We need to improve access to physical and mental health services.”
  

Click here to view proposals that were submitted by Queens neighbors at our participatory budgeting sessions.

November 29 marked this year’s Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity when many people celebrate their favorite nonprofits. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. This season of giving, QCH is highlighting the importance of community for our #AllQueensOneCommunity campaign. For Giving Tuesday, we asked QCH staff, partners, and neighbors what “community” means to them. Click this link and hear what they had to say in our new video!

If you would like to help us support the Queens community through our #AllQueensOneCommunity campaign, click here. You can also learn how to fundraise for QCH here.