All you need is a dollar and a dream. Mayor Eric Adams and local elected officials toured the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in East Flatbush, a $141 million project that is halfway complete.
New York City Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Tom Foley and Mayor Adams reviewed the site on Oct. 21, a little over a year after breaking ground on the facility.
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 people and reduce violence within the neighborhood.
“A lot of kids will have their dreams realized here,” Adams said. “Kids in this neighborhood won’t have to leave the area to study or participate in sports like basketball, track and field, and swimming.”
The center is named after Shirley Chisholm, the trailblazing Brooklyn-born politician who became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, in recognition of her lifelong commitment to public service and advocating for underserved communities.
Her legacy has lived on in the work of those bringing the rec center to life. Foley on Monday praised the “Fab Four” team leading the development.
“We’re incredibly proud of the work the superstar women are doing here,” he said.
The project is expected to be completed in July 2025.
