California Congresswoman Barbara Lee held a press conference Friday, June 3, at the Veterans Court Seawall on Bay Farm Island to highlight one of several East Bay projects that will receive Federal funding for upgrades.

Notable names in attendance for Lee’s speech included Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and Erika Simpson-Akpawu, CEO of West Oakland Health Council.
The press conference marked the last stop on the congresswoman’s tour of East Bay community projects receiving federal funding in this year’s budget. The seawall project will receive $1.5 million. It was not determined how the funds will be spent but the money will help strengthen Alameda’s coastal resiliency, according to Lee. Sea level rise is a major concern for the city.

“The City of Alameda is grateful to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and our Congressional leadership for their dedicated work on the appropriations bill, which includes $1.5 million to develop a long-term solution to coastal flooding in the Veterans Court area of Bay Farm Island,” said Ashcraft in a press release. “This project will provide critical relief to address the risk of flooding in adjacent residential neighborhoods, schools, roadways, commercial properties, Chuck Corica Park municipal golf course, and the Oakland Airport.”

Lee was able to secure $10.3 million in funding from the FY22 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The bill itself includes $730 billion in non-defense funding, according to a press release from the U.S. Appropriations House Committee. The bill, passed by the House of Representatives, will fund projects nationwide that support the health, wellbeing, and economic recovery of communities after the pandemic.

“The recipients of this funding are doing critical work to help the East Bay community recover from the pandemic, respond to the climate crisis, increase access to affordable housing, and improve the health, wellbeing, and safety of our residents,” said Lee.

The Veterans Court Seawall project is just one of the projects in Lee’s district that will receive funding from the bill. An affordable housing development/environmental clean-up project in Emeryville will receive $2 million, a trash capture project in San Leandro will receive $1 million, the Oakland Cultural and Commercial Corridor Recovery project will receive $1 million, and the Oakland Mental Health Resilience project will receive $1.23 million.

The bill will also allocate $1.25 million for facilities and equipment upgrades at the West Oakland Health Council, $1 million for the African American Holistic Resource Center in Berkeley and $350,000 for facilities and equipment upgrades at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. Youth ALIVE, a violence prevention organization, will receive $500,000. The Oakland Symphony will also receive $500,000 for its MUSE Program.

Congresswoman Lee is the U.S. representative for California’s 13th Congressional District, which encompasses coastal East Bay cities such as Alameda, Oakland and Berkeley. Lee, a Democrat, has served in her role since 1998 and is in her 12th term. Lee is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.

To learn more about the projects receiving Federal funds, visit www.lee.house.gov.