Tony Dapolito Recreation Center Not Saved in City Budget, So Fight Must Continue

By Village Preservation

We’ve got some very important news to report on the fight to save and restore the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center.

First, the bad news: the City Council’s budget agreement with Mayor Adams does NOT save the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, as we, fellow downtown community groups, and preservation organizations from across New York City and State had urged local City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and other Councilmembers to do. According to Bottcher’s office, the agreement does not have “any commitments about how much of the existing structure will be preserved,” and contains no funding for its restoration. It is extremely disappointing that the Council failed to utilize this unique opportunity to ensure the Center is preserved, restored, and reopened, and deeply troubling that the Mayor now has funding he can use to demolish the Center, as he’s indicated he intends to do.

There is some good news. After repeated calls from the above-mentioned groups and thousands of New Yorkers, Councilmember Bottcher did, just prior to the budget agreement, write to the Mayor and Parks Commissioner urging they only consider options for the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center that “retain, at minimum, the existing facades of the building, while also exploring new uses that allow for the preservation of as much of the building’s historic interior as feasible,” and that “preservation should be a foundational component of any future proposal.”

While this statement from the Councilmember — stronger than his prior communications — is welcome, it does not obligate the City in any way to preserve the building or listen to the public input they have consistently ignored. In fact, Bottcher’s letter goes on to say that “it is essential that no funds be allocated or expended on demolition until a detailed proposal is presented and thoroughly vetted by the community” [emphasis ours], leaving the demolition option a possible outcome of yet another “public engagement” process.

Village Preservation is now calling on the Landmarks Preservation Commission to force the Parks Department to repair and maintain the long-neglected Tony Dapolito Recreation Center.

The fight to save the Center therefore remains in our hands. Any future City plans for the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center are supposed to come back to the public for review via the Community Board, and any proposal to demolish the building would require a full public hearing and approval process via the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which Village Preservation would adamantly oppose. We have already established a public record of the historic significance of this building and why the Commission should never approve demolition. And now we’ve also written to the LPC urging them to pursue a “failure to maintain” case against the city’s Parks Department for allowing the building to fall into disrepair. We’re calling on the LPC to force the Parks Department to repair the landmarked building — you can too here.

Note: Community Board 2’s Parks & Waterfront Committee will receive an “Update on progress Dapolito Center planning,” from the Parks Department on August 6, which likely focuses on plans for the new recreation center at the unbuilt 388 Hudson Street, and is not a public hearing. However, some useful information and opportunities to communicate concerns regarding the Parks Department’s failure to restore the existing Tony Dapolito Recreation Center may present themselves.

More info and registration at cbmanhattan.cityofnewyork.us/cb2