SCS News

Sunnyside Post reporter Allie Griffin talked to Judy Zangwill, Executive Director of Sunnyside Community Services, property owner Harry Otterman, and Kristina Baines, one of the organizers with the 45th Street Composters for this feature article about how they worked together to convert a vacant lot in Sunnyside into a composting site.

Judy Zangwill, executive director for Sunnyside Community Service, calls it “… a great story about how people in the community came together to make something positive happen.”

Read the full story online at https://sunnysidepost.com/sunnyside-residents-and-property-owner-come-together-to-turn-empty-lot-into-composting-site.

Since last June, Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) has been working with the 45th Street Composters to negotiate with the owner of a vacant lot in Sunnyside to use the lot for composting. The property owner, Harry Otterman, agreed to allow the composters to use the lot if SCS was involved. Last week, the negotiations were finalized and SCS signed a one-year lease for the lot on behalf of the 45th Street Composters.  

On Saturday, October 17, the 45th Street Composters held a plant swap, their first official public event since the lease signing. The lot, located at 45th Street and Skillman in Sunnyside, Queens. will be open every Saturday from 9:30 am – 1 pm so that local residents can drop off food scraps to be composted. In addition to composting, there are plans for additional garden-related programming in the spring and summer.  

Since the pandemic began, Sunnyside Community Services in Queens has distributed over half a million dollars in cash assistance to struggling New Yorkers. But with more than 500 people currently on the waiting list, the funds have run out.  

“The number of people asking for help is just staggering,” said Judith Zangwill, executive director of Sunnyside Community Services. “In a 12-month period during normal times, we would expect to distribute about $25,000 in assistance. Since March, we have given out 20 times that amount, and that represents just a small portion of the gaping need that is out there. We need our elected officials to marshal their resources to tackle this challenge.” 

Since March, more than 500 people have received assistance from Sunnyside Community Services. The vast majority seeking help did so for rent expenses. Typically, applicants request help in the amount of $3–9,000 for months of past-due rent. Actual disbursements ranged from $50–$2,000. 

A large portion of the assistance money was earmarked for undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for other forms of government aid such as unemployment insurance. Funding for the program was provided by Gerstner Family Foundation, Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, The New York Community Trust, and Robin Hood Foundation.  

“There is a lack of resources for undocumented immigrants,” said Johan Lopez, director of adult and immigrant services for Sunnyside Community Services. “Couple that with the fact that many immigrants rent their apartments with no lease agreements, and therefore have no protection against evictions, and it’s clear that our undocumented residents are facing unique challenges. Immigrants are the backbone of this city. But once the pandemic hit, there were no resources for them and they were left behind.” 

Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) is a community-based nonprofit centered on the belief that every person deserves meaningful support to achieve their aspirations – especially struggling families and individuals. SCS serves a diverse community of over 16,000 people of all ethnicities and income levels throughout Queens with programs that range from pre-K to college and career readiness, home care and home health aide training, Beacon and Cornerstone community centers for children and families, a vibrant senior center and full range of services for at-risk older adults including social adult day care for individuals with Alzheimer’s, and a city-wide program of supportive services for those who care for them. With programs designed to enrich lives and strengthen communities through services and engagement for individuals at all ages, beginning with those most in need, SCS has been lighting up lives with programs as diverse as the people they serve since 1974. For more information visit scsny.org or email info@scsny.org.  

Sunnyside Community Services is one of five Queens organizations to receive grants to enhance legal counsel and case management to undocumented immigrant New Yorkers. The ActionNYC grant, from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration, will allow us to provide free legal assistance, information and referrals to undocumented immigrants.

Other Queens-based organizations that received grants include Chhaya Community Development Corporation, Make the Road New York, Jacob A Riis Neighborhood Settlement, and MinKwon Center for Community Action. 

Read the full story online.

PreK children all over the city are heading back to in-person classes. WNYC reporter Jessica Gould stopped by our free preK Sunnyside UP program on the first day of school to find out what’s different this year. Jessica spoke with a preK teacher and even heard the class handwashing song. Hear Jessica’s report, incluidng that charming song, online.

The Queens Gazette covered our face mask distribution event in Woodside. On September 1, staff members passed out free face masks and information about Covid by the 7 train. Read about it online.

Staff from Sunnyside Community Services passed out information and free face masks outside the 61st Street Woodside subway station on September 1. Since July, Sunnyside Community Services has distributed more than 3,500 free face masks throughout Sunnyside and Woodside. 

The effort is part of COVID-Free Queens, an awareness campaign led by Public Health Solutions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Queens. The COVID-Free Queens coalition includes organizations based throughout Queens including Korean Community Services, South Asian Council for Social Services, Young Women Christian Association, and Voces Latina. 

Jonah Gensler, associate executive director for community services at Sunnyside Community Services, and Jolene Boden, case management program director for Sunnyside Community Services, are quoted in a recent New York Post article about the increase of elderly New Yorkers waiting for help from city agencies. Even though the number of New York residents waiting for assistance has increased 265 percent since February, the Department for the Aging has a $33.1 million cut in the city’s fiscal-year 2021 budget.

Read the full article online. 

The Office of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez honored Michelle Bova, Director of Marketing and Community Relations for Sunnyside Community Services, for helping her neighbors during Covid-19. 

Michelle has organized food deliveries and distributions for low-income residents, developed new partnerships with organizations and supermarkets, and reached out to local politicians to create a coordinated effort for food resourcews within our community.

Read more about Michelle and her committment to helping her neighbors on Facebook.

June (Shun Hing), a home health worker at Sunnyside Community Services Home Care, was honored by the New York Yankees at a home game against the Boston Red Sox for her work as a front-line healthcare hero. Our home health aides have put in incredible amounts of work during this crisis, and they are truly front-line lifelines for the people for whom they care. Our sincere thanks to all of them for ‘stepping up to the plate’ during this crisis.

Watch a short video of the special event.