Construction has begun on the new state-of-the-art Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in East Flatbush.
Rendering courtesy of NYC Parks
Elected officials and community leaders broke ground on a new state-of-the-art recreation center at the Nostrand Playground in East Flatbush on Monday.
Mayor Eric Adams, Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, state Sen. Kevin S. Parker, Council Member Farah N. Louis and more attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the $141 million Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center — named after the legendary American politician who became the first African American woman in Congress.
“With this tremendous investment in central Brooklyn, this administration is bringing state-of-the-art recreational amenities to a community that was neglected for so many generations,” said parks department commissioner Sue Donoghue at the event. “This is a historic moment and it’s truly fitting that this space will bear the name of Shirley Chisholm when it opens in 2025. Shirley Chisholm was an icon of New York City and she also believed that all New Yorkers, regardless of race, gender, income or zip code deserve to be full participants in the political, economic and cultural life of our city.”
The recreation center project is nearly two years in the making and is currently ahead of schedule, according to Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, with construction expected to wrap up in 2025.
“For everybody’s information, generally, it takes us almost three years to get through design,” Joshi said during the press conference on Monday. “We’re done. We’re building already.”
The Foster Avenue rec center will feature numerous amenities including an indoor pool, a public plaza, a teaching kitchen, a media lab, green roof and more — and was made possible through collaboration between elected officials and community leaders, who lobbied to build the expansive new center as part of a holistic approach to serve young…
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