**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

CONTACT: 

Emilia Rowland, Emilia.Rowland@mail.house.gov

Vaibhav Vijay, Vaibhav.Vijay@mail.house.gov

Congresswoman Summer Lee Presents $1 Million Check to Allegheny YMCA for Building Rehabilitation and Community Improvements 

Pittsburgh, Pa. — Today, Rep. Summer Lee visited the Allegheny YMCA in the Northside to present a $1 million check in grant funding for Allegheny Y building rehabilitation and programs for community improvement, support and empowerment. This investment is one of 14 projects for which Rep. Lee has secured Community Project Funding in the FY24 Federal Budget signed into law by President Biden last Saturday. 

This $1 million investment secured by Lee will help rehabilitate the Allegheny YMCA building to make it ADA accessible, address unworkable infrastructure, and allow the facility to directly address the needs of the community through upgraded space to provide childcare, before/after school enrichment, support for seniors, provide air conditioning, and promote community health and wellness.

More pictures here. 

“For 96 years, the Allegheny YMCA has been a vital resource for the Northside community, offering programs for seniors, teenagers, children and young parents. But like so much of the Northside, the Allegheny YMCA on North Avenue hasn’t been upgraded for decades and is in desperate need of investment and rehabilitation.  s. This has resulted in tangible benefits such as improved health outcomes, increased independence, lower medical costs, and enhanced mental well-being” said Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12) We are proud to  deliver $1 million to support the important work being done by the YMCA . While the YMCA meets critical community needs, there are essential steps to ensure accessibility, proper facilities, and expanded programming, particularly for children and seniors.”

“The YMCA is thrilled to welcome Congresswoman Lee as we celebrate the generous grant she has secured for the renovation of the Allegheny YMCA,” said YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO, Amy Kienle. “For 96 years, this Y has been a pillar of the community. Now the building needs assistance as we plan for the community’s evolving needs and prepare for the next 100 years of service. Thanks to the Congresswoman’s advocacy, this grant brings us closer to our ultimate goal of providing a more supportive, accessible and inclusive facility for the members, residents, staff and the Northside community at large. “This grant brings us closer to our funding goal of $23 million and a start date for the project. We all look forward to the day when the Allegheny Y will provide more accessible health and wellness services and other essential programs to the Northside community and beyond,” 

Background: 

This project is one of 14 for which Rep. Lee secured funding in the FY24 Appropriations process. These projects included: 

• This $1,000,000 for YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh
• $1,700,000 for the Tri-COG Land Bank Modular Houses on Blighted Land Project in McKeesport
• $1,000,000 for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Truck Package
• $959,757 Granted for the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Storm Sewer Project
• $500,000 for Urban Redevelopment Authority to Build Mixed-Use Affordable Housing
• $1,000,000 for Tree of Life Educational Space Rebuild
• $1,666,279 for Homewood Fields and Community Complex in Pittsburgh
• $461,197 for Jubilee Kitchen Facility Expansion and Renovation Project
• $966,000 for City of Pittsburgh Criminal Justice Diversion Program
• $850,000 for the McKeesport Duquesne Bridge Preservation
• $547,000 for Extended Support for 10.27 Healing Partnership to respond to and address the ongoing trauma from the 2018 Synagogue Mass Shooting
• $500,000 for Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh 
• $500,000 Granted to Westmoreland County – 4th Street Bridge Improvement in Irwin
• $500,000 Granted for SR 2046, Streets Run Road Resurfacing in Whitehall
• And $2 million in partnership with Senator Casey’s office.
  • $500,000 for the Kingsley Association to make modifications to the Association’s current facility to allow the community center to meet the needs of the people with disabilities in the City of Pittsburgh and the broader region. 
  • $1,000,000 for the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh to expand their facility to accommodate a Digital Innovation Center to address the community’s need for job and apprenticeship training and to support the educational development of K-12th grade youth.
  • $564,000 for the City of Clairton to rehabilitate a building that will house the Clairton Public Library, which will provide free internet access, accessible reading spaces and bathrooms, and event spaces to host community events, meetings, and training.

In December, Rep. Lee hosted a roundtable with Community Project Funding recipients to highlight the need to pass a federal budget, and what these vital investments would do for their organizations and for the community. 

• At the time, Carolyn Grady, the Executive Director of Pittsburgh YMCA said “Right now with all of the stairs and no elevator, we can’t host a lot of senior programming. If you have any kind of mobility issues. It’s almost impossible to get into the building. The residents who live on the top three floors, we have a chair on each landing so they can sit down and catch their breath as they are carrying their groceries up to their room. There is no air conditioning in that building right now. And if you can imagine everybody remembers what last summer was like with those air quality days. And so we are deeply grateful for the support from your office, Congresswoman Lee for delivering the funding for this renovation to bring accessibility, updated plumbing, air conditioning, and an affordable childcare center to our resident’s and Pittsburgh’s north side.”

After Congressional Republicans threatened another government shutdown, President Biden was finally able to sign the bipartisan negotiated partial FY24 budget last week. Included in the budget was $12 million for Rep. Lee’s district that will go toward organizations and projects to fight hunger, homelessness and blight, as well as wraparound services, infrastructure improvements and education against antisemitism and discrimination. 

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Since taking office in January, Lee, who serves on the House Oversight Committee and Space, Science and Technology Committee, has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $1 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $200 million for infrastructure, over $50 million for affordable transit, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 1,800 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.

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