Bowman Announces $26 Million Funding Request Gambit For District

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — If Rep. Jamaal Bowman's FY2023 funding requests are passed, the Hudson Valley will again be getting a substantial influx of federal money.

On Monday, Bowman announced requests for approximately $26 million in funding for community projects throughout New York's 16th Congressional District that he submitted to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee for inclusion as part of the FY2023 Federal Appropriations process. If enacted, these funding requests for projects throughout NY-16 would provide urgent violence prevention resources, mental health support, summer and afterschool programming, hospital upgrades, workforce development and public infrastructure capital improvements.

"Every opportunity I get to direct more federal dollars to critical resources in our district, I’m taking," Bowman said. "I’m calling on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, to include these funding requests in its FY23 Appropriations legislation to provide our district with the funding needed to create a culture of care in our community by prioritizing public safety, healing and investing in our whole community through health, education, resilience, and workforce development projects. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside many community organizations and elected officials to put these proposals together based on neighbors in NY-16’s needs, and I thank them for their hard work and expertise."

Bowman said each of the projects is important to push Hudson Valley communities forward. Projects he is seeking federal money for include, launching workforce development initiatives in Yonkers, preventing youth violence in Mount Vernon and addressing the need to rehabilitate the Lake Isle Dam. The lawmaker said he will continue to advocate for these projects throughout the appropriations process "to make New York’s 16th Congressional District a better and more equitable place to live and work."

SEE ALSO:

• 17 Year-Old Fatally Shot, 16-Year-Old Gunman Is In Custody
• Fatal Stabbing of Teen Mars Day Of Community Pride And Celebration

"Working with partners like Congressman Bowman has allowed us the opportunity to bring critical resources for our young girls in Mount Vernon,” Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Mayor said. “I am excited to hear that our Youth Bureau’s Safe Place 4 Our Girls proposal is under federal consideration for funding. As we’ve seen over the past few weeks it is important that we wrap our arms around our girls and provide them with the support they need. I look forward to championing this proposal throughout the process."

Each of the requests submitted to the House Appropriations Committee will be vetted for feasibility, and if successful, will be included in the FY23 Appropriations legislation, which will then be voted on by House Appropriations Committee members and the entire U.S. House of Representatives. Once the House and Senate reach an agreement on a final annual spending bill, and if it is passed in both chambers, it will be sent to President Biden to be signed into law.

The Westchester County Community Project Funding requests:

• $4 million to Westchester County for the necessary final stage of rehabilitation for the Yonkers Sewage Treatment Plant
• $3,005,523 to Montefiore Medical Center to expand behavioral health clinics in Westchester County public schools
• $2,560,000 million to Westchester County for a study of the Lake Isle Dam to promote safety, flood mitigation, and environmental justice in Southern Westchester
• $2 million to St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers to improve emergency healthcare equity by expanding its emergency department space
• $2 million to the City School District of New Rochelle to create a holistic summer and after school learning experience for K-12 students
• $1,958,400 to the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson to install geothermal heat pumps, solar panels and improve energy efficiency at its public library and village hall
• $1.6 million to the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester to pilot a mental health and educational support program for at-risk youth ages 18 to 24 in Mount Vernon, known as the YouthHEAL Initiative
• $1,125,245 to Justice Innovation to fund a Community Youth Violence Intervention Initiative in New Rochelle
• $999,000 to the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau to launch Safe Place 4 Our Girls to provide support and behavioral development activities for at-risk girls ages 10 to 21
• $802,583 to the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial to create a fund to enable equitable access to mental healthcare and counseling for uninsured and underinsured children and families in Yonkers
• $690,449 to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Yonkers to equip and connect Yonkers residents to workforce enhancement & recession-proof employment opportunities

“This innovative and comprehensive initiative will bring together an unprecedented partnership throughout our community to address the challenge of youth violence and ensure that more young people in New Rochelle have the best opportunity for a positive future,” Mayor of New Rochelle Noam Bramson said of the request for funding for the Community Youth Violence Intervention Initiative in New Rochelle.

Superintendent of the City School District of New Rochelle Jonathan Raymond echoed the mayor's sentiments, calling the potential funding boon well-timed.

"The City School District of New Rochelle is grateful for Congressman Bowman's advocacy in helping us to better serve the 10,000 students in our school district and their families," Raymond said. "The pandemic has deepened the need for additional opportunities for students to further develop their academic, social, and emotional capacities in safe and supportive environments. Our schools are an ideal, central setting for out-of-school time enrichment hubs to enable students to engage in programming influenced by student voice and steeped in action. This funding would help us create opportunities for our students to explore how the arts, business, virtual enterprise, and other career fields can enable them to use what they are learning to have an impact in their neighborhoods, community, and their lives."

More details on all of the funding projects can be found here.