Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris Announces $10,000 In State Funding For Queensbridge Library

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris announced $10,000 in state budget funding for materials at the Queensbridge Library. Joining Senator Gianaris for his announcement were Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott and local Queensbridge leaders.

“Promoting digital literacy is indispensable as we prepare our community for today’s job market,” said Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris. “I am pleased to help our neighbors develop the skills they need to succeed in this economy.”

“The Queensbridge Tech Lab has become an essential resource for people who want to develop the high-demand skills needed in today’s job market,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “We are grateful to Senator Gianaris for securing funds for new computers and other equipment and for additional digital literacy services at the lab. This money will go a long way towards helping narrow the digital divide in the borough.”

“Jacob A. Riis Settlement salutes Senator Michael Gianaris for his generous support of libraries and especially the Queensbridge Public Library.  The Queensbridge Public Library is providing a needed service to our community offering a wide variety of experiences for increasing ones knowledge base including free reading and the lending of books, computer classes, career development sessions to printing of resumes to explore work opportunities.  The library embraces all the people of our community and encourages them to walk through their doors,” said Robert Madison, Associate Executive Director, Jacob Riis Settlement House.

“Senator Gianaris has always been a champion for Queensbridge. His recent allocation of funds for Jacob Riis and now for the Queens library is testimony of how hard he fights for this community. There was never a doubt on things that he did accomplished for this community,” said April Simpson, President of the Queensbridge Tenants Association.

“I’m proud to say that our community is experiencing a serious renaissance of development and community growth.” said Urban Upbound Co-founder & CEO Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor.  “Our young people want to be apart of this renaissance. To that end, young people see the value and equity in the Tech World with the ability to gain success with a fairly short runway. We applaud Senator Gianaris for recognizing this fact and providing this valuable funding to the Queensbridge Library Tech Lab. We are fortunate to have an interconnected community in Western Queens that stands in solidarity with the Queensbridge Library Tech Lab.”

Queens Public Library has been a fixture in Queensbridge for 70 years. The library’s digital tech lab has recently expanded to support digital literacy programs in the community.

Senator Gianaris successfully advocated for increased funding for community priorities in this year’s state budget, including $58,000 for the Jacob Riis Settlement House, $30,000 for the Gantry Parent Association, $13,000 for Sunnyside Community Services, $13,000 for Hunters Point Middle School, and $20,000 for Immigrant Families Together.

Photos from today’s announcement are available here: https://bit.ly/304pzng.