The redeveloped clubhouse<\/a> will include a regulation pool, a gymnasium, a teaching kitchen, a theater, and what will become the first planetarium in Queens, expanding the Club\u2019s ability to deliver educational, recreational and enrichment opportunities for generations to come.<\/p>\nOnce complete, the new clubhouse will allow the organization to serve up to 16,000 children annually, according to Variety CEO Costa Constantinides. The redevelopment will also make Variety the largest Boys and Girls Club in the U.S., as well as allowing the organization to effectively quadruple the reach of its after-school, athletic and swimming programs in Queens.<\/p>\n
![\"Renderings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260401-View1.jpg\")
Renderings for the new clubhouse. Photo via Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens.<\/p>\n
The project, which is expected to be completed by early 2028, \u00a0includes a 236-unit, carbon-neutral affordable housing development, with 69 units reserved for youth aging out of foster care, as well as a dedicated children\u2019s mental health center. Additional features include a 1,500-seat arena and a 400-seat school, further integrating community services with educational and recreational programming.<\/p>\n
Now, the redeveloped clubhouse will also include a hockey rink and innovation space providing youth-focused programming for local children.\n<\/p>\n
Constantinides said the grant will allow Variety to provide children with the \u201ctools to find their passions\u201d as well as building hockey fandom in the area.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful for the National Hockey League, National Hockey League Players\u2019\u00a0 Association and the IGF\u2019s critical support for our new building and Center Rink for Innovation play roof as part of what will become the largest Boys and Girls Club in the United States,\u201d Constantinides said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL\u2019s responsibility to the communities it serves extends \u201cfar beyond the rink.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis grant is about investing in people, in\u00a0 neighborhoods, and in the future. The Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens has a remarkable history of service, and we are proud to support a project that will create opportunity, belonging,\u00a0 and hope for so many young people,\u201d Daly said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh said the organization is keen to support the construction of the clubhouse, stating that the grant aims to support communities where players live and work.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clubhouse will have a positive impact on so many young people in Queens, and\u00a0 we look forward to seeing the facility come to life,\u201d Walsh said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renderings for a proposed hockey rink at the state-of-the-art Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens clubhouse. Photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[76083,9,24,539,63,122,124,123,25671,3950,76084,76085],"class_list":{"0":"post-189718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-hockey-rink","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-nyc","13":"tag-queens","14":"tag-queens-headlines","15":"tag-queens-news","16":"tag-variety-boys-and-girls-club","17":"tag-variety-clubhouse","18":"tag-variety-boys-and-girls-club-of-queens","19":"tag-vbgcq-ceo-costa-constantinides"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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