{"id":391767,"date":"2026-11-03T06:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T06:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/391767\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T06:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T06:04:27","slug":"queens-botanical-garden-receives-12m-to-fund-new-greenhouses-after-catastrophic-winter-breakdown-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/391767\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Botanical Garden receives $12M to fund new greenhouses after catastrophic winter breakdown \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queens Botanical Garden (QBG)<\/a> has secured $12 million in state funding to support the construction of two new greenhouses, allowing it to replace its existing structures which date back to the 1960s and suffered extensive damage during the cold snap last winter.<\/p>\n

The existing greenhouses, which QBG used to house its tropical collections and warm-weather species like mature banana trees, lost heat during one of the coldest weekends of 2026, leading to the death of hundreds of plants.<\/p>\n

QBG said the incident was not the first time that the existing greenhouses had faltered due to outdated infrastructure but said that the most recent incident was by far the most significant.<\/p>\n

The greenhouses, which date back to when QBG was relocated from Flushing Meadows Corona Park to its current home in Flushing <\/a>in the 1960s, also boast a number of other issues, including cracked and uneven pathways. Evie Hantzopolous, QBG\u2019s executive director, said the greenhouses are not even safe for members of the QBG crew in their current state, pointing to a number of tripping hazards.<\/p>\n

\"ConditionsConditions have deteriorated inside the greenhouses. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

Hantzopolous was in Albany when the greenhouses failed in January and approached Assembly Member Nily Rozic, whose district covers the botanical garden. Rozic, along with the Assembly\u2019s Queen delegation, lobbied Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who committed $10 million toward the construction of new greenhouses. At the Oct. 30 announcement event, Heastie committed a further $2 million.<\/p>\n

\"HantzopolousHantzopolous celebrates the allocation of an additional $2 million in funding. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

The new greenhouses will be moved to the park\u2019s boundary, allowing QBC to plant an outdoor garden at the current home of its greenhouses. At present, the greenhouses are located in the middle of the botanical garden, with Hantzopolous stating that their relocation will make QBC more open plan and accessible to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the new ones are done, this will get knocked down and the space will be turned into a garden for the public to enjoy,\u201d Hantzopolous said during a tour of the current greenhouses.<\/p>\n

The new greenhouses will boast state-of-the-art technology, allowing QBG to build robust and annual collections. For the first time ever, the collections will be partially open to the public, providing year-round opportunities for educational activities and community engagement. They will also be ADA-accessible.<\/p>\n

Hantzopolous, who described QBG as a \u201c39-acre oasis\u201d in the heart of Downtown Flushing, said she was \u201cstunned\u201d to learn that the state would be funding upgrades for the QBG greenhouses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to be able to have state-of-the-art greenhouses here at the garden, and it\u2019s something that the garden deserves, that our community deserves, that Queens deserves,\u201d Hantzpolous said. \u201cReally, everyone who walks through these doors will benefit from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rozic recalled meeting Hantzopolous in Albany almost immediately after the greenhouses had malfunctioned in January and said she was \u201cshell-shocked\u201d when she saw photos of hundreds of dead plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite literally overnight, the greenhouses failed,\u201d Rozic said.<\/p>\n

\"AssemblyAssembly Member Nily Rozic. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

Rozic said she has been visiting the garden since she was a child and said it was a \u201cfull-circle moment\u201d that she was able to now bring her daughter to the space for its Little Sprouts program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to thank Evie and her team for making this garden look as incredible as it does,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a special place for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heastie, meanwhile, spoke of the importance of preserving zoos and botanical gardens so that the communities they serve can enjoy outdoor open spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueens deserves this. People deserve this. They are beautiful open spaces,\u201d Heastie said.<\/p>\n

The State\u2019s funding is not the only funding that QBG has received in recent years.<\/p>\n

In addition to the State\u2019s funding, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng allocated $500,000 to the greenhouse redevelopment and other capital projects in FY 2024, while members of the Assembly\u2019s Queens delegation, including Assembly Members Larinda Hooks, Stacey Pheffer-Amato, Jessica Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas, Steven Raga, Zohran Mamdani, Claire Valdez and Rozic secured $2.25 million to fund renovations of QBG\u2019s rose garden in 2024.<\/p>\n

The capital funding, obtained with the assistance of State Sen. John Liu, also included funds to upgrade visitor bathrooms, perimeter fencing and interior gates.<\/p>\n

Meng said the recent greenhouse funding, along with other capital projects ongoing at QBG, will make the space a \u201cdestination of choice\u201d for families across New York City. Meng said the space caters to all members of the community, noting that her grandmother recently celebrated her 102nd birthday at QBG.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis garden serves our seniors who are doing tai chi early in the morning,\u00a0our kids who come here on\u00a0class trips\u2026 They have a children\u2019s garden. People get married here,\u201d Meng said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) has secured $12 million in state funding to support the construction of two new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[66325,128,310,648,877,9,24,17691,63,141698,17693,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-391767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-assembly-speaker-carl-heastie","tag-bronx","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-flushing","tag-grace-meng","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nily-rozic","tag-nyc","tag-qbg-executive-director-evie-hantzopoulos","tag-queens-botanical-garden","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391767","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=391767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}