Construction is underway for the long-anticipated recreation center in honor of the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. The Flatbush-Gardens Tenant Association partnered with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the New York City Department of Construction and Design to update community members on the project. On Thursday, September 12th, 2024, residents gathered at the community center to get a glimpse of what’s to come and to address some of their concerns.
The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center is a $141 million capital project funded by Mayor Bill DeBlasio in 2021. The center will be the first city-run recreation facility in central Brooklyn and offer various activities. Situated at the Nostrand Playground in Flatbush, Brooklyn, it will be the first center of its kind. Despite the services it will provide the community, some residents have concerns about the community’s involvement in its construction and hiring. Community leaders ensure that the center will be a collaborative effort with community members in mind. “We want to make sure that this center is representative of the district, the whole community, and make sure we are implementing things that you, your family, and your neighbors find useful,” Councilwoman Farah Louis(D-NY) stated.
The center will cover over 70,000 square feet and become the biggest recreation center in Brooklyn. According to the Chief of Recreation at NYC Parks, Eileen Dalton, the center will be a multipurpose space offering various activities. It will have a gymnasium for multiple sports, such as basketball, volleyball, football, and table tennis. The center will also have a rooftop terrace for concerts, movie nights, and silent discos. There will also be a media lab where children and adults alike can learn tech, create content, and make music, and a teaching kitchen where students will create dishes from ingredients grown in the garden at the center.
Grant Ewing of the New York City Department of Construction and Design (DCD) emphasized the importance of community feedback. “We’re working with the community on the design process,” he stated. The project is currently under construction, and DCD is looking within the community for workers to help finish it. According to Mureeze Durant, the Community Construction Liaison, a project labor agreement was created with the city unions to help provide free OSHA training to hire and unionize people wanting to obtain employment through the project.
However, some community members had concerns about how many jobs and opportunities are going to residents of the Flatbush-Gardens community. Camara Jackson of Elite Learners, a community-based organization within the district that provides workforce opportunities and enrichment programs, believed that the center should be operated by a community organization instead of a city agency. She also said that she had 60 residents within the community who were trained, certified, and ready to seek employment through the project and requested a partnership with the agencies to ensure those individuals were hired. She stated, “A lot of times, it’s good to say ‘we’re going to hire from within,’ but when the jobs come, no one within knows.”
Sandra Guy, a community resident, felt the same way and wanted to know why half of the jobs could not be offered to community members. “It seems like more of the outsiders are going to be coming in and getting all the jobs. It’s always happening,” she said. But she thinks that employment opportunities from the center will help reduce crime in the community. She wonders why there isn’t more effort to help train and employ some younger people loitering around the neighborhood.
Neighborhood resident Nicka Charles was concerned about the center taking space from the local school. “I’m a parent of a student at school 361 and I actually brought my child to this school because they had a big schoolyard, and now they no longer have it.” According to Parks recreation chief Dalton, NYC Parks is working on a solution with the school to ensure children have a space to play in a way that won’t hinder their recreational time.
Dalton said that all the agencies involved in the project want to ensure that the center is unique to its community. And despite the concerns, some residents remain optimistic about it and what it could provide the community. According to resident Rochelle Chase, “I think it’s going to be great and a good access to the community.” The anticipated completion of the center will be in the fall of 2025.