You are reading

Assembly Member González-Rojas Secures Funding for Several Programs in the State Budget

Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas (Photo: Instagram: @votejgr)

April 14, 2022 By Allie Griffin

Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas announced this week that she helped secure funding for several key initiatives in the new state budget.

State lawmakers passed the final $220 billion state budget for fiscal year 2023 over the weekend. The budget, González-Rojas said, included funding for renters and small landlords, hospitals, schools, CUNY, childcare and other items she advocated for.

The assembly member said she also spearheaded efforts to secure funding to fight food insecurity — which skyrocketed in Queens during the pandemic — as well as relief funding for victims of Hurricane Ida.

“Two major issues have impacted our community since I assumed office, which includes increasingly worsening food insecurity and the damage of Hurricane Ida,” González-Rojas said in a statement. “That’s why I advocated for millions of dollars to assist my constituents and New Yorkers with both.”

She helped secure $1 million in funding for a program to help food-insecure New Yorkers access SNAP benefits as well as $41 million in funding for homeowners affected by Hurricane Ida.

The $1 million is part of an outreach program that aims to increase awareness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)– which helps low income residents buy food– as a means to boost enrollment. The outreach will offer one-on-one assistance to help people eligible for SNAP get enrolled into the program. Coordinators can help them gather necessary documents, fill out and send the application and provide information on other food assistance programs.

The $41 million Ida relief fund, meanwhile, will help homeowners repair storm and flood damage to their homes from the 2021 hurricane. More than 2,900 homes suffered damages and many Queens and Long Island residents are still in desperate need of assistance, González-Rojas said.

“I’m proud to have successfully advocated for our state budget to include vital investments to our communities,” she said. “They will help us to recover from the impact of the pandemic in a just and equitable way.”

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

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

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.