July 10, 2024 Office of the Mayor News
Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Department of Parks and Recreation: Good afternoon, Brownsville. I'm New York City Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, and I am so excited to be with you all this afternoon. What a beautiful afternoon to celebrate our parks and important public spaces. These are the places that make our city livable.
Our rec centers, like this one, provide New Yorkers with places to play, to learn, and get exercise. They're also, importantly, incredible community hubs that support the social fabric and culture of our neighborhoods. This recreation center is a place where kids grow up and where seniors learn to connect and dance and exercise in this very room where we're standing. Likewise, our clean parks play a critical role in keeping communities safe. A clean, welcome park generates positivity and sends the message that our city cares. These aren't luxuries only for some communities. We know they are necessities for all New Yorkers.
I am so proud of the incredible role that our park staff play in keeping our city clean, green, and safe. I'm thankful to this administration, under Mayor Adams, for making this commitment to our city's living infrastructure. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce the Get Stuff Done mayor himself, Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, thank you. It's getting stuff done for you in a real way. We're joined also by Councilman Banks. I'm happy he joined us for this important announcement. This is a significant place.
This rec center, for many years, it has played the role to be not only a safe haven, but a place to do the things that Commissioner Donoghue stated. I know this is something that Brother A.T. Mitchell from Man Up, he and I talked about this for so long. Both Commissioner Donoghue and Deputy Mayor Joshi, and the person that I think who loves their job more than anyone on the globe, brother, [Brooklyn] Parks Commissioner for New York, Marty Maher. He is so committed and dedicated.
It was a real bump in the road.. When we started to do the renovation, and there were some real foundational issues here. People thought we were going to walk away. We were clear, we were not. We know what this community, what this center means. I know that there have been so many years of broken promises. People were rolling up on me saying, are you walking away? I said, listen, when I make a promise, a handshake means everything. When I make a promise, I'm going to live up to it. Not only as the mayor and former Brooklyn Borough President, but let's be clear, I was born in Brownsville. I was born in Brownsville.
This is in line with our mission. Create an environment that's safe to make this city more livable for working people and affordable. Part of that is having park spaces. That is something that Sue did when she was at Prospect Park Alliance. She's continuing to do throughout this entire city. Even in some difficult times, she's found a way to make sure that we continue to lean into our parks.
We invested billions of dollars with real partnership with the Council and Speaker Adams. Those issues that are important to us, housing, child care, and healthcare. Huge issues for this city. We also were able to invest billions of dollars through the last budget and more city resources for education, libraries, public safety, housing, healthcare, transit, cultural institutions, and more. We are investing in public spaces. Sue has been rallying, rallying and pushing. How do we do it? How do we continue to do it?
Today we're proud to announce a $160 million investment in Brownsville Recreation Center. Think about that. Those historically are Upper East Side numbers, but we're bringing it to Brownsville. $160 million to renovate this beautiful facility, 70-year-old complex, into a brand new state-of-the-art recreation center in the heart of Brooklyn. That's the symbol that we're talking about. Because every community deserves an incredible space to raise healthy children and families, to do the dancing that you've been doing for years, to create a space that we can use as a hub.
During our administration, we have added more than 40 football fields worth of new public spaces, and we're focused on keeping them clean as well. In addition to the new rec center, thanks to a $15 million city investment, our parks department will hire an additional 240 full-time maintenance staff to provide a second shift of cleaning at city public parks.
Speaker Adams was very clear on what we wanted to accomplish with her team members and council people. We're baselining this into the budget to make sure we don't have to debate and go through it each year. The money will be there. Our parks will remain clean and safe, and that's the focus. This is what this announcement is about today. If you were to do an analysis, I don't think there's been another mayor that has been in Brownsville as much as I have been on so many levels, walking these streets, talking to people, and really showing the love for the city on a whole.
We're an outer borough administration. We spend a lot of time in the outer boroughs, South Jamaica, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, all of these communities that historically did not see their mayor. I am happy that we're able to make this important contribution to this amazing community of heartbroken, dedicated, committed people that have not received the resources they deserve. That stopped January 1st, 2022. I'm really proud of this announcement. Thank you for what my team has done. Let's continue to lift up Brownsville.
Commissioner Donoghue: Thank you, Mayor Adams, for this incredible investment in this really important community space. Next, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has infrastructure, both living and otherwise, in her portfolio and worked so hard on behalf of it, New York City deputy mayor for Operations, Mira Joshi.
Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, Operations: Good afternoon. It is a real joy to be here on such an important day because today's investment marks how the Adams administration is making a cleaner, greener, and better New York City for all.
I think it's really important to note, I think our speakers before almost undersell two huge points. When it comes to rec centers, we are making state-of-the-art rec centers all across the city. Go over to Shirley Chisholm and take a look at how much progress has happened there. That's a sign of what's going to happen right here, but even better because every time we do it, we get better at it.
That's amazing facilities inside and out, full Olympic-sized swimming pools, media centers, everything. Because rec centers are home away from home, and for some people, they are more than home. They are where they find safety, solitude, and friendship. We have to make sure that we're providing that home for the young, for the old, and for the newcomers, and for those who have been in Brownsville their entire lives and for generations.
I couldn't be more excited for this announcement, and I just want to give you a little bit of nerdy facts. We have the ability to build better, faster now thanks to fighting in Albany to get construction tools. Our commissioner for Department of Design and Construction is behind me, and with what's called design-build construction, we can now take two years off of the timeline that it takes to build a rec center. That's a huge part of any child's lifetime. Mayor Adams means it when he says get stuff done. He means get it done quickly, too.
The other piece that I don't want to undersell is the second shift. This administration is the first administration that has recognized that our outdoor space, they're our backyards. They need to be in order, they need to be accessible, and they need to be inviting. It's the first administration that has dedicated maintenance staff to after 3 p.m. Because people are at work, and they want to use the parks after work. Kids are at school. They want to use the parks after school. They should be clean then, too. We can't just call it quits at 3 p.m. and go home, because lots and lots of people are in our parks.
With the second shift that was founded by Commissioner Donoghue, it is a program that goes to the hundred dirtiest spots in our parks all across the city and makes sure that there is an evening shift of workers there. Restrooms are available, trash is picked up, and the maintenance of our parks mirrors our lifestyle. We'd love to see it around the entire city, so we'll keep fighting for that.
I don't want to undersell the importance of funding this initiative, which really turns the page on what our parks mean to everybody, and it produces an immense number of good jobs that are union jobs that have a career ladder, and jobs that are meaningful. Once again, we get stuff done, but we do it in a way that is inclusive and ensures that we're bringing everybody along.
Thank you so much, Brownsville. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to do another amazing construction project to give back to a community that's given so much to New York City. Thank you so much.
Commissioner Donoghue: Thank you, Deputy Mayor Joshi. Now it gives me great pleasure to introduce our New York City councilman, who is with us this afternoon, Chris Banks. Thank you, Chris.
City Councilmember Chris Banks: What can I say to the mayor? Thank you so much. This is something that's been overdue for a long time, and it's good to see that it's such an investment in the Brownsville community. My name is Chris Banks. I'm a New York City Councilperson.
We wanted just to let the residents know, today is a historic day in Brownsville section of the 42nd Council District, where this announcement of $160 million investment into this 70-year-old structure is more than just a rehabilitation of a 70-year-old building. The Brownsville Recreation Center isn't just a building where youth come to play basketball, participate in media skills and programming, learn to garden, learn so much more. It isn't just a building where seniors come to do Zumba, play pickleball, or participate in other programs that keep them healthy and active. The Brownsville Recreation Center, affectionately known by many in this community as the BRC, is a place where, as the late great Jocko Jackson once said, hope. Hope is inside.
Today's announcement is a testament to the legacy of that hope in a community that unfortunately sees more negative stories than we want to see. This capital investment of $160 million is a message to those in Brownsville that this is our community, and we will continue to invest in that community, creating beacons of health, wellness, beacons of positivity, beacons of excellence, and beacons of that same hope that Jocko said inside. Let us continue to make the Brownsville community bigger, brighter, and better, stronger through efforts like this.
Again, to the community, thank you so much. To the mayor, to our speaker, thank you so much for delivering for the people of Brownsville. Thank you much.
Commissioner Donoghue: Thanks so much, Councilmember Banks. Now please welcome to the podium Ionna Jimenez, Project Director of Brownsville Community Justice Center.
Ionna Jimenez, Project Director, Brownsville Community Justice Center: Thank you all, and thank you, councilmember. Thank you, the mayor. I also want to give some recognition to our dearly beloved Greg ‘Jocko’ Jackson. He is the unofficial mayor of Brownsville and really tooted his horn about this place. It was a gem to him, and it's a gem to all of us. He absolutely pushed hope. He pushed hope in me. He was one of the first people here that ushered me into this community and made sure that I, too, pushed hope. His legacy remains alive, and we're so thankful for him. Thank you, Jocko. This is because of you.
We also want to thank Mr. Jerry Childs, who is the director right now of the Brownsville Recreational Center. He is continuing the legacy and continuing to do the great work here at BRC, lighting the candle, lighting the way, and really being a true community member and resource to the Brownsville community.
We're here to celebrate a tremendous investment by our community leaders for $160 million for this recreational center, and that's amazing. I look forward to coming back here. I came here when I was a child, and I've seen this place grow throughout the years. We are super excited to make sure that this remains a vital cornerstone in our community so that way our young people, our children, our children's children, and our grandparents can continue to have a really amazing place that they can learn, grow, take care of themselves and their bodies, and really just force a connection with each other and really continue the sense of community that Brownsville really is.
Because we have a slogan, and I say it everywhere I go. Brownsville never ran, never will. It's because of the people who made this building possible. Greg ‘Jocko’ Jackson, Jerry Childs, and our community leaders. Ms. Carmen, she's still paving the way and still out here. Ms. Lisa Kenner, still out here knocking down doors, putting a fire to the people. Genese Morgan, our chairperson for the community board. La’Shawn Muhammad, Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation executive director. All of the people that are here. We fight really hard for these spaces and for the money, and so we really want to thank you, Mr. Mayor. We want to thank you, Parks Department. We really appreciate it, and we can't wait until the building is for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Commissioner Donoghue: Thank you so much, Ionna, and we can't wait either. It's very exciting. Thank you all so much for being here. It's very exciting. We'll look forward to continuing the dialogue and continuing the conversation as we begin to plan this new rec center. Thank you.
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