Tony Dapolito Update March 2025

By Ede Rothaus

Day and night the lights are on at the Tony Dapolito recreation center. Scaffolding and netting have been covering major parts of its exterior for years. Workers are not in evidence and it remains closed to the public. What’s going on?

That was the purpose of the joint Community Board 2 Parks and Waterfront Committee and Landmarks Committee meeting held at Middle School 297 at 75 Morton Street. And that’s where on a very cold Feb. 5 evening approximately 100 people in person and another 100 online came to find out.

Several NY Parks Department representatives spoke about “Tony Dap’s” structural and technical problems. Their reasons for the complete demolition of this historic and landmarked community resource are that it is in such bad shape and so old that to repair and bring the buildings up to today’s codes is too difficult and expensive. No mention was made of the countless hundreds of older buildings and properties — privately held or owned by the City of New York that have had successful and cost-effective renovations, repairs and restorations.

The question asked, though not answered, is why did the city let the building deteriorate?

At least 40 people had signed up in advance to speak at the meeting and many more were able to be accommodated: lifelong Villagers of various ages; preservationists; current neighborhood residents along with people from TriBeCa, Soho, the Bronx and East Village. Many spoke about what Tony Dap meant to them personally: entire summers spent daily swimming in the outdoor pool; organizing a women’s basketball league, summer camp, using the gym and weights, community meetings and birthday parties, playing handball and shooting hoops and Keith Haring’s mural. The ability to simply be outdoors was consistently spoken about.

The word community was heard countless times during the meeting and almost always with Tony Dapolito as its center and for some, a refuge.

The disappearance of buildings, stores and businesses along with open space was talked about and how one’s sense of home and belonging is affected as one’s neighborhood disappears.

For this reporter the most striking difference between the presentations of the Parks Department and the two-minute time allotment given to the general public were their creative ideas as alternatives to demolition.

People suggested restorative renewal and re-use — such as, keep its shell and renovate. Find uses for Tony Dap and adapt it. If the basketball court is not large enough for regulation high school size, use it for younger, smaller children or move it. Can the rooftop be reimagined?

The future of ‘Tony Dap” is unclear. New York City still wants to demolish it although the city is saying it will not replace it with a “non-parks” mixed use tower. How long the lights will continue to stay on remains to be seen.