By Alex Davidson
But it is not yet literal cement blocks and mortar that hospital officials will use to build the new facility on Beach Channel Drive. Instead administrators are hoping to raise funds to cover construction costs through the sponsorship of bricks that will be included in the future health care site's structure.
“Our goal for the community 'Buy-a-brick' campaign is $250,000,” said Peter Nelson, executive director of The Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center. “This is a wonderful way to put your tax-deductible donation to work within the Rockaway community and see tangible results.”
The Addabbo health center embarked on its fund-raising campaign last month to build its new facility and educational center in the Rockaways with the help of the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation. The address for the new facility will be at 6200 Rev. Joseph H. May Dr., which is a special strip along Beach Channel Drive.
“This is an exciting time for the Rockaways,” said Curtis Archer, executive director of the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation. “To provide this service, we must engage not just our political representatives and corporate leaders but the community as a whole. Having community vested interest in projects such as ours is what makes them a reality,” Archer said.
“It is what ensures the vitality of the Rockaways.”
Each brick will be sold at $250 each and can be inscribed with a person's name, company name, the name of a loved one or a statement, according to a hospital release. Groundbreaking for the new state-of-the-art facility in the Rockaways is scheduled for early this year, according to a hospital release.
The current Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center is located at 67-10 Rockaway Blvd. in Arverne. It is the largest and only federally qualified health center with its main office in Queens, the statement said.
The center currently operates out of three locations and provides health services to the medically indigent and underserved residents of the Rockaway Peninsula.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
