West Bronx Recreation Center

Parks Cuts Ribbon On West Bronx Recreation Center Ballfield

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 22, 2008
No. 92
http://www.nyc.gov/parks

Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined Council Member Helen Diane Foster, Community Board 4 District Manager Jose Rodriguez, and kids from the West Bronx Recreation Center Summer Camp to cut the ribbon on a new permanent, multi-use synthetic turf ballfield at West Bronx Recreation Center in the Highbridge Section of the Bronx.

“The new, permanent ballfield on the footprint of a former empty lot at the West Bronx Recreation Center is a home run for the Highbridge community,” said Commissioner Benepe. “This is a great example of how the City can convert underutilized space into a place for active recreation. The recreation center now hosts a new, permanent playing field in an area that was previously not usable by the public and which will now provide neighborhood kids more opportunities for sports and fitness.”

The new ballfield designed for soccer, softball, and little league baseball was constructed at the site of a .37 acre former empty dirt lot and roadway next to the center. The field now also features new bleachers, a water fountain, a misting station, trees, shrubs, walkways, fencing, storage, and a roadway turnaround.
“The opening of the West Bronx Recreation Center Ballfield on a formerly abandoned street and underutilized lots shows our ongoing commitment to the development of open space and infrastructure improvements in the Bronx,” said Seth W. Pinsky, President, New York City Economic Development Corporation. “This project is another successfully completed part of the improvements undertaken in conjunction with the development of the new Yankee Stadium – a project that will pay dividends to the neighborhood, the Bronx and the City for many years to come.”

The $3 million project was funded by the City as part of the Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project. As part of the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, the City had planned to build two temporary ballfields along the Harlem River, until the new Heritage Field could be built. At the community’s request, the City has built two permanent ballfields instead. The permanent ballfields are a bonus for the community and will help alleviate temporary inconveniences as parkland is redeveloped in association with the construction of the New Yankee Stadium.

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CONTACT: Jama Adams/Jesslyn Tiao (212) 360-1311