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Officials Break Ground on Only Planned Parenthood in Queens

 Planned Parenthood of New York City will open a location in Queens in May.
Planned Parenthood to Open Queens Location
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LONG ISLAND CITY — Construction is underway on a new Planned Parenthood health center in Queens — the organization's only location in the borough.

The $9 million, 14,000-square-foot facility is expected to open next May at 21-41 45th Rd. in Long Island City, and will offer a range of sexual and reproductive health services, officials said.

"More than 10 percent of our patients now come from Queens," Joan Malin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC), said at a press conference on Thursday.

Malin said PPNYC, which has locations in the other four boroughs, has seen a 30 percent increase in its patient base over the last six years, and has expanded hours at its existing centers to meet that demand.

"We know there's an unmet need, and so we're very thrilled that we can now actually have this center right here in Long Island City, where a number of the trains come in, a number of the buses come in," she said. "We think it really will serve the full population in Queens."

PPNYC had a location in Rockaway for a short time about 45 years ago, according to the organization, but the Long Island City facility will be its first full-service health center in the borough.

The center's services will include gynecological care, birth control, screenings for breast and cervical cancers, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing and counseling, Pap tests and abortion services, according to PPNYC.

The new location will also offer health insurance enrollment through Medicaid and the state's Health Plan Marketplace, as well as community space that will be available for PPNYC's partners to use.

According to PPNYC, Queens has the highest rate of uninsured women and girls in the city.

The organization says that about 60 percent of pregnancies in Queens are unintended, and that western Queens in particular has some of the highest rates of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and teen pregnancies in the city.

"The fact that Queens did not have a Planned Parenthood location was very concerning to me, because more than 54 percent of my district are women," Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas said at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony.

"I'm so thrilled that women are going to be receiving comprehensive health care services in one location," she continued. "There's going to be utmost privacy, and they don’t really have to travel too far to get what I think is a basic human right for everybody — health care."