$300,000 Commitment Clears Key Hurdle for Rockaway Trauma Center

New York, NY — On June 30, 2025, the New York City Council voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget. This year’s budget delivers critical citywide investments to support working families and strengthen essential services across the five boroughs.

The FY26 budget includes a pivotal $300,000 investment to advance the development of a trauma center on the Rockaway Peninsula — a long-overdue facility that would bring life-saving emergency care to one of New York City’s most medically underserved communities. 

The $300,000 allocation will fund the land transfer from NYCHA to the City — a necessary step to allow construction to proceed on the site identified by the community between Beach 62nd Street and Beach 59th Street. The land transfer builds on the Administration’s existing $50 million capital commitment for the trauma facility, secured in previous budget negotiations.

The Rockaway Peninsula, home to more than 120,000 residents, remains more than 10 miles from the nearest trauma-designated hospital. In recent years, this lack of emergency care has led to preventable tragedies and deepened health disparities in Southeast Queens. The trauma center is the result of years of advocacy from the Far Rockaway Trauma and Healthcare Access Taskforce, co-founded by Council Member Brooks-Powers and Dr. Mitchell Katz of NYC Health + Hospitals.

“For too long, Far Rockaway has lacked access to trauma care,” said New York City Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. “This $300,000 commitment clears a key hurdle in building the trauma center our community so desperately needs. I thank Mayor Adams for his leadership in committing this funding, and I remain grateful to our partners in labor, healthcare, and local government for standing with us to deliver on this site for the trauma center. This is not just an investment in infrastructure — it’s an investment in lives.”

Media Contact for Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers:

Julian Martin | jmartin@council.nyc.gov 

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