Queens Community House

• Originated as Forest Hills Community House and has grown to a borough-wide organization.
• Operates a broad network of comprehensive services at approximately 40 sites in 15 neighborhoods.
• Reaches thousands of participants each year.

Holistic approach

QCH is committed to a holistic approach that:

• Addresses immediate needs while also tackling barriers to long-term personal, family, and community stability.
• Recognizes the interconnected relationship between housing, health, employment, education, self-esteem, and financial wellbeing.
• Ensures that participants in every program have access to a full range of resources that support wellness and life-long security.

Through this approach, QCH programs help participants:

• Thrive in school.
• Make healthy life choices.
• Succeed in educating themselves.
• Become engaged citizens.
• Stabilize their housing situations.
• Make the most of their senior years.

Children and youth services

• Serve children and youth from infancy through middle school.
• Provide parent engagement and advocacy.
• Support family childcare providers.
• Offer academic support and cultural activities that prioritize children's overall development.

Young adult services

• Support young adults transitioning from childhood to adult life.
• Help participants explore next steps after graduation, including education and training options.
• Provide employment-related services and opportunities.
• Create spaces for building relationships, support networks, and leadership skills.

Adult and family services

• Offer a broad range of services to support strong, stable, and self-sufficient families and communities.
• Connect participants to resources that address housing, health, employment, education, self-esteem, and financial wellbeing.

Older adult services

• Serve one of the largest and most diverse older adult populations in New York City.
• Provide programs for Queens residents age 60 and over and caregivers of older adults living in Queens.
• Offer supportive centers and activities designed to help older adults remain healthy, engaged, and connected.

LGBTQ services

• Create a welcoming environment where everyone is celebrated for who they are.
• Provide Generation Q programming for LGBTQ youth, offering care, support, and acceptance.
• Operate the Queens Center for Gay Seniors, a warm and welcoming space for LGBTQ older adults.

Geographic reach

• QCH operates a broad network of comprehensive services at approximately 40 sites in 15 neighborhoods across Queens.
• Programs are designed to help individuals, families, and communities build stability, connections, and long-term wellbeing.

Queens Community House (QCH) operates programs at multiple sites across Queens, but the address above is the primary administrative location listed on the website.

Program hours and site-specific contact details vary. For the most up-to-date information on a particular program or location, visit the QCH website at https://www.qchnyc.org or contact the main office.

The organization makes the following types of documents available on its website:

• Audited financial statements
• IRS Form 990
• Annual reports

Recent fiscal years listed

As of the latest website update, QCH lists financial and/or annual report information for:

• Fiscal Year 2025
• Audited financial statement
• Form 990
• 2025 annual report
• Fiscal Year 2024
• 2024 annual report
• Fiscal Year 2023
• 2023 annual report
• Fiscal Year 2022
• 2022 annual report
• Fiscal Year 2021
• 2021 annual report
• Fiscal Year 2019
• 2019 annual report

For the most current financial documents and any additional years, visit the financial reports section of the Queens Community House website at https://www.qchnyc.org/about-us/financial-reports.

Mediation and compromise

• Mayor John Lindsay appointed Queens attorney Mario Cuomo to mediate the tensions and help the community reach a compromise.
• The final agreement:
• Reduced the size of the planned buildings.
• Gave existing community residents priority for the new housing units.
• Reserved 40% of the apartments for older adults.
• Created the first low-income public housing cooperative in the nation.
• Included plans for a community center, based on a proposal from a coalition of civic organizations.

Founding and early years

• In 1975, Forest Hills Community House opened with three staff members and a board of directors made up of community residents from both sides of the earlier conflict.
• From the outset, its mission was to bring together economically, ethnically, and racially diverse residents and to provide a place where neighbors could support and strengthen one another.
• Early programs included a children's program and a summer day camp.
• A senior center operated by Self Help, Inc. moved into the building and became a Forest Hills Community House program in 1993.
• By 1980, core components of Youth Services, Community Services, and Older Adult Services were in place.

Expansion across Queens and name change

• Over time, the organization expanded beyond its Forest Hills/Rego Park base, opening and operating programs in other neighborhoods throughout Queens.
• The successful program model was replicated to meet emerging needs in new communities.
• In 2007, Forest Hills Community House changed its name to Queens Community House to reflect its borough-wide presence and identity.

Today

Queens Community House continues to focus on neighborhood strength through individual empowerment and community connection, applying lessons learned in Forest Hills to address the changing needs of Queens, one of the most diverse urban areas in the world.

• Michael Stellman, President
• Retired
• Madhuri Kommareddi, Vice President
• Teamshares
• Perry Poulos, Treasurer
• Tamiru Mammo, Secretary
• Bloomberg Associates
• Gregory Matalon, Assistant Secretary
• Capell Barnett Matalon and Schoenfeld
• Richard Anglin
• UBS
• Kamal Bherwani
• ARMOUR Families
• Karl Chen
• D.E. Shaw and Co
• Andrew Chung
• Extell Development
• Alex Cress
• Wildflower Studios
• Dan Devroye
• JPMorganChase
• Allan Dobrin
• Boston Consulting Group
• Betty Gee
• Barclays
• Jonathan Isler
• Deerfield Management Company
• Brian Long
• Marshall Wace
• Frank Loughlin
• AllianceBernstein
• Angelique Medley
• Stealth
• Vanessa Resnick
• Goldman Sachs
• Tina Samanta
• Gibson Dunn
• Elissa Shevinsky
• Cyganix
• Joshua Weingarten
• Triangle Equities
• Emily Wilcox
• TBWA\\Chiat\\Day
• Jonathan Vazcones
• Amalgamated Bank

Executive staff

• Ben Thomases – Chief Executive Officer
• Sara Rakita – Chief Operating Officer
• Dennis Redmond – Chief Strategy Officer
• Allison Ball – Chief Financial Officer
• Robin Veenstra-VanderWeele – Chief Program Officer
• Ivonne Torres – Associate Executive Director for Young Adult Services
• Takiyah Weekes – Associate Executive Director for Community Services
• Windell Spaulding – Associate Executive Director for Youth Services
• Tyronza Murray – Associate Executive Director for Older Adult Services

Vision

Queens Community House envisions Queens as an empowered community that values diversity, respect, and mutual responsibility. In this community, all people are actively engaged, feel supported, have a voice, and experience equal access to opportunities.

Ask anyway — the agent will say plainly that it is not published rather than guess.