Mayor de Blasio Announces Plan for new Recreation Center in Flatbush, Brooklyn

July 27, 2020

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced a new recreation center will be built at Nostrand Playground in Flatbush, Brooklyn that will include an indoor pool and kitchen for cooking classes, using capital funding shifted from the NYPD to Parks in the Fiscal Year 2021 Adopted Budget. The new recreation center will also include a two-lane painted track, and will host fitness, youth and senior programming.
 
"Our recreation centers are the lifeblood of our communities, providing an engaging sand supportive environment for all New Yorkers," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.  The new Nostrand Playground in Flatbush will be a safe haven for Central Brooklynites, building on our commitment to create a fairer and safer city for all as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis.”
 
The Center will be created using the design-build method of construction management, which the City received broad authorization from Albany for in December 2019. Design-build brings designers and contractors together as a team at the beginning of a project leading to greater cooperation and innovation, and is known to reduce the timelines of major projects by up to 18 months.
 
“NYC Parks recreation centers are crucial community amenities, providing safe, engaging, and fun activities for all New Yorkers, especially our youth. We are thrilled to add a new recreation center in the heart of Central Brooklyn at Nostrand Playground in Flatbush,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “Thanks to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Member Farah Lewis, and all who have advocated for this new amenity, the new recreation center will have a transformative impact on Brooklynites and all New Yorkers for many years to come.”
 
“For the people of Flatbush, the new community recreation center at the Nostrand Playground will serve as a center for economic growth and youth development,” said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte. “The large Haitian and Caribbean-American community in Brooklyn has been adversely and disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted racial disparities in our neighborhood. This investment in our community and in future generations is a crucial step toward reducing those disparities. I thank Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Silver for seeing this project through.”
 
"Our youth, families, and seniors have waited with much anticipation for a safe space that they can call their own - a hub for learning, recreation, community and civic engagement. This state-of-the-art recreation center will be a beacon of inspiration and innovation,  where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect and prosper with expanded access to much-needed resources in a centralized location.  Our youth have been met with extraordinary challenges, life-altering and traumatic experiences that no child should ever have to encounter. This center is how we Occupy the Block, this is how we stop the shooting and save lives, by taking this critical step forward. My predecessor, former Council Member and current Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams brought this idea to life and I am proud to build upon this framework and carry it across the finish line together. I want to thank Mayor de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Silver for working in partnership with my office and the residents of District 45 to formally announce a new recreation center at Nostrand Playground in East Flatbush," said Council Member Farah N. Louis.