Forest Hills Community Center, at 108-25 62nd Dr. (Google Maps)
Feb. 10, 2021 By Allie Griffin
One of Queens’ largest community-based organizations recently bought its long-time headquarters and plans to modernize the building.
Queens Community House (QCH) bought the Forest Hills Community Center at the end of December and will start renovating the building in July, the organization announced Monday.
The non-profit plans to add accessibility upgrades, lounges, counseling rooms and areas for intergenerational activities. It will also revamp the entire building.
The work is expected to be completed by the summer of 2022, Queens Community House Executive Director Ben Thomases said.
Queens Community House has run the center, located at 108-25 62nd Dr., since 1976 and now owns the building after its Board of Directors agreed to purchase it from the tenants of the Forest Hills Coop.
It was owned and operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) until 2017 when tenants of the Forest Hills Coop took it over.
“The purchase marks an enormous milestone in our organization’s evolution,” Thomases said. “It solidifies the continuity of the Forest Hills space as an essential resource for the Forest Hills, Rego Park, and Corona communities.”
Queens Community House, which was established at the center, has 32 community sites across the borough. The non-profit is still headquartered at the Forest Hills Community Center.
About 500 people visited the center daily prior to the pandemic, according to Queens Community House. The center houses a senior center and a teen center and offers English language classes, after-school programs and youth leadership programming.
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