As part of its Safe Summer NYC initiative to combat gun violence, the NYPD is partnering with different groups to refurbish basketball courts across the city in public housing developments.
Fifteen basketball courts at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complexes will be restored by August under the program, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. He said the swift timeline will allow for kids to enjoy a safe sports outlet this summer.
“This refurbishment of basketball courts is deeply appreciated by kids, by parents, and the community,” said de Blasio. “It’s so important to give kids these positive options and to show police and community working together for the good of our children.”
One of the courts at Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses opened Tuesday, with five more scheduled to debut in the coming days at the Sheepshead Bay Houses and Thompkins Houses in Brooklyn, as well as Manhattan’s Wald Houses East and Wald Houses South, and Forest Houses in the Bronx.
While getting people vaccinated is a huge part of the city’s recovery, the mayor maintained, the Safe Summer NYC initiative is also a major part of that effort.
“It’s a focus on community investments, it’s a focus on precision policing and smart efforts by police to address issues, it’s also a focus on our court’s system, all of these pieces together help get us safer,” said the mayor, who has often linked the city’s recovery to crime.
Hizzoner has maintained that, as the city continues to recover, crime across the five boroughs will dip.
“Recovery is going to help us in so many ways,” se Blasio said. “To ensure recovery we have to keep acting on public safety but as I always say: public safety equals recovery, recovery equals public safety.”
This story first appeared on AMNY.com.
