Issue Position: In the Community

Issue Position

Joe works hard every day to improve the quality of life for residents of New York's 14th Congressional District. From his efforts to open up economic opportunities for businesses to his fight to keep residents safe and secure, Joe is committed to keeping Queens and the Bronx great communities to live, work, run a business, and raise a family.

Joe is working on behalf of communities in Queens and the Bronx by:

-Establishing the Crime Stoppers program in 2002 to support local organizations that are working to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Through this initiative, Joe has delivered more than $1 million in federal funding to the Bronx-Queens community for graffiti clean-up, after-school programming, and civic patrol efforts

-Delivering over $7.2 million in federal assistance to Queens residents and businesses after the massive storms and subsequent flooding in August 2007

-Bringing home $500,000 in federal funds for New York City Department of Transportation to carry out the Maspeth Bypass traffic study to explore alternate routes for commercial trucks and improve the quality of life for residents of Maspeth

-Successfully fighting to keep Westchester Square Medical Center open so that residents can access the quality health care services they need

-Obtaining federal funds to support efforts to alleviate traffic congestion in Jackson Heights and help make the community a safer place to live and do business in

-Securing a new home for the Bronx Council on the Arts, which will allow the organization to expand and thrive, by bringing together public and private sector stakeholders to facilitate the sale and transfer of the new property

-Working to rename the post office at 1449 West Avenue in the Bronx after Private Isaac T. Cortes, an Army soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2007. Cortes grew up in Parkchester and attended Christopher Columbus High School

-Negotiating a deal with the federal housing regulator to allow a range of banks to make home loans in the communities of Silver Beach and Edgewater Park, as well as raising the cap on the number of loans Citibank can provided in the area so homeowners have access to much-needed financing

-Spearheading the effort to transform the six-acre site formerly known as the "Elmhurst Gas Tanks", located at the corner of Grand Avenue and 74th Street in Maspeth, into a beautiful community park -- KeySpan Park

-Successfully advocating in 2003 for the Juniper Park neighborhood to be included in the Middle Village 11379 zip code

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