You are reading

AOC and Maloney Call on De Blasio to Open Vaccination Sites at HANAC Facilities in Queens

HANAC George T Douris Tower located at 2740 Hoyt Ave S, Astoria (Google)

March 4, 2021 By Christian Murray

Two Congresswomen are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to open COVID-19 vaccination sites at five senior housing facilities in Queens that are managed by HANAC.

Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney penned a letter to the Mayor Monday asking him to add the buildings that are overseen by the Hellenic-American Action committee to the list of vaccination sites.

Three of the five buildings are in Astoria, with the other two in Flushing and Corona. The buildings contain a total of 650 senior affordable housing units.

HANAC PCA Senior Residence located at 31-34 33rd St. in Astoria (Google)

The congresswomen say that residents of these buildings are primarily low-income seniors. “These residents—our constituents—are part of the high-risk demographic for severe outcomes…yet currently they do not have access to a convenient vaccination site.”

The letter notes that a large number of the residents have mental and physical disabilities that make it difficult for them to travel to the nearest vaccination site. Furthermore, many of these residents, they say, don’t have the technological literacy to reserve a vaccination appointment for themselves online—despite being eligible.

“Vaccine distribution should be easy, accessible and free for all,” the congresswomen wrote. “That is why we ask that you give full and fair consideration to adding on-site vaccination sites at each of the HANAC affordable housing residences.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not say whether the city would open sites at the HANAC facilities, just that more vaccination sites will be coming on line.

“We’ve opened roughly 400 sites…including neighborhood clinics, vaccine hubs, NYCHA pop-ups and more,” a spokesperson said. “We continue to seek creative new ways to provide vaccinations to New Yorkers where they are. As new sites are able to come online—which is supply dependent—we will continue to announce them.”

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Maloney Request Vaccination Sites at HANAC Locations by Queens Post on Scribd

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

Astoria doctor sentenced to more than two decades in prison for rape and sexual abuse: DA

An Astoria doctor was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court for raping unconscious acquaintances and sexually abusing hospital patients.

Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, of Broadway, pleaded guilty on June 30 to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. The defendant — a former gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital — recorded the abuse of his unconscious victims with his cell phone in both his Astoria apartment and at the hospital.