By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
EAST HARLEM — Hunter College broke ground on a new building in East Harlem Monday, in a move that will transport the School of Social Work to a neighborhood in need of additional community services.
Elected officials, including Gov. David Paterson, and school administrators attended a morning ceremony. Paterson lauded the project as an "good example of the work of public and private partnerships."
"This is why I signed up for public service. This is the kind of work I wanted to do," said Paterson.
The East Harlem building will also be home to a new CUNY School of Public Health, which will focus on issues unique to urban environments.
The state is contributing $101.3 million to the project and $30 million was donated from the Silberman Fund, according to the City University of New York, which includes Hunter College.
Borough President Scott Stringer spoke of the needs of East Harlem and the possibilities for Hunter College partnerships with community organizations.
"I am already thinking of the various collaborations that we are going to do together," Stringer said.
The school of Public Health will launch master's and doctoral programs. It will be the first school of its kind with an urban focus, according to its founding dean, Dr. Kenneth Olden.
"Because of the population diversity in New York City, the knowledge and best practices that will be developed here at the School of Public Health can be applied around the world," Olden said.
A cancer researcher who previously headed the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Olden said the school will address health concerns like asthma, cancer and diabetes, all of which are prevalent in Harlem.
The programs will also study life expectancy rates, which can be 15 to 20 years lower in neighborhoods such as East Harlem than it is in surrounding areas, Olden added.
The eight-story, 147,000-square-foot building will sit on E. 119th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. It will have an auditorium, library and cafe and is set for completion in September 2011.
