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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 090-05
March 8, 2005

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES $2.5 MILLION COMMITMENT TO LOWER EASTSIDE GIRLS CLUB BUILDING CAMPAIGN

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Councilmember Margarita Lopez this morning announced the City will commit an additional $2.5 million towards the $12 million Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) building campaign. The Mayor previously committed $500,000 in capital funds to the campaign a year ago.  The proposed facility will be a five-story, 48,000 square foot building located on Avenue D between 7th and 8th Streets, and will contain a technology center, a 70 seat-screening room,  an art gallery, an ecology and science center, classrooms for arts, recreation, career counseling and other extracurricular programs.  The new building will allow the LESGC to consolidate its programs into one building and expand its services from 350 girls to more than 1,500.  Construction is expected to begin within a year.  The Mayor and Councilmember Lopez were also joined at the announcement by LESGC Executive Director Lyn Pentacost and New York Community Trust Program Director Patricia White at the Girls Club's Fourth Annual International Women's Day Breakfast at the National Arts Club in Manhattan.

"I am pleased to announce our commitment of $2.5 million in capital funds to support the construction of this new building for the Lower Eastside Girls Club - the only girls club in the City," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "The Girls Club has grown into a major force in the neighborhood in just ten years, and the new building will go a long way in helping them in their mission to address the needs of girls and young women on the Lower East Side.  I would like to thank Margarita Lopez for her strong commitment to this project, and I look forward to its completion."

"I am very proud to have worked hard with the Mayor to help build the first Girls Club in New York City history," said Councilmember Margarita Lopez. "The Mayor's generous capital gift will give the girls and young women of the Lower East Side a safe and secure place in which they can become healthy, happy and productive members of society."

The new building will also benefit the surrounding community with approximately 15,000 square feet of artist studio space to be leased to the Federation of East Village Artists, and 7,000 square feet of retail space.  In addition, rooftop antennas will allow the club's neighbors - including residents of two public housing developments - to enjoy high-speed internet connections at no cost.

The LESGC is a community non-profit founded in 1996 to address the needs of girls and young women.  The Girls Club currently provides a range of innovative programs to approximately 350 low-income girls and their families out of multiple rented spaces.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Robert Lawson   (212) 788-2958

Janel Patterson (NYCEDC)   (212) 312-3523

Adriana Pezzulli (LESGC)   (917) 653-8542

Connie Ress (CM Lopez)   (917) 375-3322




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