Longtime community members and elected officials celebrate the ribbon cutting of the Forest Hills Community Center. Attendees included Michael Stellman (Board President), Donovan Richards (Queens Borough President), Lynn Shulman (NYC Council), Ben Thomases (Executive Director, QHC), Robert Rodriguez (DSNY), Alan Hevesi (NYS Assembly), James Gennaro (NYC Council), and Sam Marks (FJC)

May 28, 2024

Queens Celebrates Grand Re-Opening of Forest Hills Community Center

FJC congratulates Queens Community House on the ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Forest Hills Community Center, following a two-year, $16 million renovation.  The project was made possible in part by a $3.9 million loan from FJC, which bridged public capital grants.

The ceremony drew local elected officials and dozens of Forest Hills community residents, including stakeholders whose connection to the community center goes back over its nearly fifty-year history. 

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said, “We know what this center means to Queens, and I think it’s more important than ever that we have spaces like this in our borough.”  

More than 500 neighbors pass through the center on a typical day, as it transforms itself from a senior center in the morning to an after school site in the afternoon and a Teen Center in the evening.  The center hosts numerous immigration services, free English classes, youth workforce initiatives, services for older adults and much, much more.

Speakers at the event included Queens Borough President Donovan, NYS Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi, NYS Senator Joseph Addabbo, NYC Council Members James Gennaro and Lyn Schulman, and former NYC Council Members Danny Dromm and Karen Koslowitz, and Robert Rodriguez, CEO of DSNY. See NY1 News coverage of the ceremony here.