Congresswoman Simon Secures Over $11 MILLION in Community Project Funding for Transformative Projects in the East Bay

OAKLAND, CA – Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) is excited to announce that she has successfully secured $11.2 million for 15 different community projects in California’s 12^th Congressional District through the Fiscal Year 2026 Community Project Funding (CPF) Grant process. 

The federal funding will support a variety of efforts from the East Bay Regional Fire Training Facilities in Berkeley and Albany, public safety through the City of Oakland’s ‘Ceasefire’ program and at the Northeastern University Oakland campus, safety and mobility improvements to the Lincoln Avenue / Marshall Way / Pacific Avenue Corridor, a new public transit plaza next to the Ashby Bart Station and lighting improvements at nine BART stations across the district, shoreline improvements for the City of San Leandro, Brooklyn Basin, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, and more. 

Of the funding, Congresswoman Simon stated: 

“I am thrilled to announce I have secured $11.2 million dollars in Community Project Funding to advance 15 community projects across California’s 12^th Congressional District. 

“From Oakland to Emeryville to San Leandro, this funding will make tangible and real differences for people in our district now and for generations to come. I am excited to see public safety, transit, health, environmental and fire prevention improvements keep the East Bay running and thriving. 

“In my first term in Congress, I am especially proud to have secured funding for all 15 projects I fought for during the Community Project Funding process. I look forward to working closely with all funding recipients to ensure that these projects are efficiently and quickly executed so constituents can benefit.” 

Each fiscal year, members of Congress can submit Community Project Funding requests for consideration with the House Committee on Appropriations. In her first year in Congress, Congresswoman Simon submitted 15 CPF requests for projects across the East Bay, and she secured funding for all 15 CPF requests. 

Former Congresswoman, now Mayor of Oakland Barbara Lee, previously championed multiple appropriations requests that Congresswoman Simon successfully secured in FY2026. Of the announcement, she stated: 

"I want to thank Congresswoman Simon for her tireless work in securing federal funding for Oakland. Her partnership has been invaluable in advancing priorities our community needs most. I am especially grateful that she continued to carry forward projects I championed during my time in Congress, ensuring that our vision for Oakland's future remains on track. This funding will make a real difference in improving transitional housing and social services by investing in capital improvements for Magnolia Women's Recovery Program and Fred Finch Youth & Family Services, strengthening our public safety efforts within the Department of Violence Prevention, enhancing security at Northeastern University's Oakland campus to better serve students and community members who use the grounds and facilities, and addressing our illegal dumping crisis through blight removal along Oakland's Brooklyn Basin. Congresswoman Simon's commitment to Oakland is exactly the kind of leadership our city deserves in Washington.” 

Of Congresswoman Simon’s announcement, elected officials in CA-12 stated: 

“I am grateful for Congresswoman Simon’s outstanding leadership and advocacy as Berkeley’s representative in Washington, said Mayor of Berkeley Adena Ishii. By securing these critical funds, she is helping make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and ensuring our firefighters have the training facilities they need to protect our community.”

“The City of Alameda is grateful for the Congresswoman’s leadership and strong commitment to the East Bay,” stated Mayor of Alameda Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft. “Here in Alameda, this federal funding for the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor project will increase safety for all of our residents by transforming a Tier-1 high injury corridor into a safe, modernized corridor connecting schools, commercial districts, and parks.”

“Thank you, Congresswoman Simon, for supporting, San Leandro’s commitment to protecting bay waters and enhancing recreation opportunities for our community,” said Mayor of San Leandro Juan González. 

“We are deeply grateful to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon for securing Community Project Funding for Emeryville’s 40th Street Multimodal improvements,” said Mayor of Emeryville Sukhdeep Kaur. “This investment reflects community voices — including vulnerable residents seeking safer access and local businesses advocating for improvements that enhance, rather than restrict, customer access. These funds will support a safer, more accessible, and economically inclusive corridor.” 

“The City of Albany is very appreciative of Representative Lateefah Simon securing $250,000 dollars in Federal funding for the East Bay Regional Fire Training Center,” said Mayor of Albany Peggy McQuaid. “With a motto of ‘Stronger Together’ the training facility will be used by the Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito/Kensington, and Richmond Fire Departments to deliver superior training that improves the safety of East Bay residents and emergency responders. As a regional resource, the East Bay Regional Fire Training Center will provide a place to unify our emergency responders, enhance operational consistency, implement industry best practices, and promote a shared culture of excellence.”

The full list of projects that Congresswoman Simon secured that were signed into law and quotes from recipients can be found below: 

• City of San Leandro’s San Leandro Shoreline Development Project
  • Amount: $1,092,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to create a regional park along the East Bay shoreline with investments in clean water infrastructure and new recreation opportunities.
• East Bay Regional Park District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline Water Quality Improvement Project
  • Amount: $1,092,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to implement green infrastructure to enhance water qualities, helping to reduce pollutants, sedimentation, and nutrient runoff into the San Leandro and San Francisco Bays.
• Samuel Merritt University, Research Equipment for Oakland City Center Campus
  • Amount: $1,031,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to purchase research equipment for Samuel Merritt University’s new campus in Downtown Oakland.
• City of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention Enhancements (Operation Ceasefire)
  • Amount: $1,039,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to enhance the capacity of the City of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention to deliver intensive life coaching and violence interruption services for individuals who are most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gun violence in the next 90 days.  This project will directly support a reduction in violent crime and recidivism.
• UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Pediatric Blood Disorder Research Center
  • Amount: $1,031,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used for a groundbreaking pediatric blood disorder research center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. This innovative research center will house investigators dedicated to translating basic research into innovative, curative therapies that would directly benefit our patients and children across the world suffering from blood conditions, including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, leukemia, and bone marrow failure.
• Northeastern University Oakland, Public Safety Security Improvements
  • Amount: $1,031,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to make public safety security enhancements at Northeastern University’s 135-acre campus in Oakland and surrounding neighborhood. The enhancements will benefit not only students and faculty, but non-Northeastern affiliated members of the Oakland community who use the grounds, walking trails, and athletic facilities.
• City of Alameda for the Lincoln Avenue / Marshall Way / Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project
  • Amount: $850,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to make safety and mobility improvements to the Lincoln Avenue / Marshall Way / Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project that serves schools, commercial districts, and parks.
• Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) for the station LED lighting program
  • Amount: $850,000
  • Purpose: This funding will support the materials and labor to upgrade the lighting to LEDs in nine BART stations, including: Coliseum, Downtown Berkeley, Fruitvale, Lake Merritt, MacArthur, Rockridge, San Leandro, North Berkeley, and West Oakland.
• City of Berkeley’s Adeline Complete Street and Ashby BART Transit Plaza.
  • Amount: $850,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to create a new pedestrian and public transit plaza along the west side of Adeline Street adjacent to Ashby BART.
• City of Emeryville’s 40^th Street Multimodal Infrastructure Improvements
  • Amount: $500,000
  • Purpose: This funding would be used for transportation infrastructure improvements along 40^th street to Christie Avenue in Emeryville, CA.
• City of Oakland’s Brooklyn Basin Blight removal and shoreline improvements
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to remove blight/plant disease and illegally dumped materials along the estuary, as well as efforts to raise the shoreline and address sea level encroachment.
• Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Manufacturing and Fabrication Pathway (FabLab)
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Purpose: This funding will be used to build the capacity of PCCD’s Manufacturing and FabLab facilities, which will provide students with access to the tools and experience required for successful digital fabrication careers.
• City of Oakland’s Capital Improvements for Core Service Providers
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Purpose: This funding would be used to facilitate a City of Oakland partnership with the Magnolia Women’s Recovery Program (Magnolia) and Fred Finch Youth Center to help provide core services to those in most need. Funding at Fred Finch would rehabilitate a commercial kitchen and cafeteria for non-minor, dependent foster youth and permanent supportive housing tenants. Funding for Magnolia would support a women’s recovery program that offers transitional housing in Oakland to advance recovery and employment outcomes with purchase of transitional housing in Oakland.
• City of Berkeley’s East Bay Regional Fire Training Facility
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Purpose: This funding would be used to build out the East Bay Regional Fire Training Facility.
• City of Albany’s East Bay Regional Fire Training Center Development and Construction
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Purpose: This funding would be used to build out the East Bay Regional Fire Training Facility. 

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