Buoyed by New Hope Villagers Rally Again to Save Landmarked Rec Center

By Phyllis Eckhaus

On a recent windy weekday, nearly 100 protesters rallied outside the shuttered Tony Dapolito Recreation Center to light a fire under city officials. Buoyed by recent events, they demanded the city save the beloved building on Clarkson and Carmine streets, long a major city hub for youth and community activities.

The nearly 120-year-old center has been closed since 2019. In 2024, the city casually noted plans to demolish it, despite the building’s protected landmarked status and despite the city not having alerted the community board to its plans.

The city claimed the center was too damaged to repair, sparking vehement community opposition, including the launch of the Coalition to Save the Public Recreation Center Downtown or SPRCD, pronounced “sparked.” It is made up of more than 25 community organizations, nonprofits, block associations and political clubs.

SPRCD held a major rally in June. And now suddenly, there’s hope. As SPRCD organizer Sommer Omar told the boisterous October 8 crowd, so much has changed for the better since June.

Reasons for optimism

First, the Parks Department “has confirmed that $120 million in capital funding has…been allocated to this site…funding that the city council has already approved…that is already finalized in the city’s capital budget.” This is money allocated years ago and never used, as the city arguably pursued “demolition by neglect” by deliberately failing to begin repairs.

Second, Eric Adams—“one of the main drivers behind the demolition plan”—has dropped out of the mayoral race.

And last but not least, the leading mayoral contender, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, has publicly promised to repair the rec center if elected. So too has his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa. (Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo had yet to take a position at press time.)

In a September 18 town hall at Saint Mark’s Church, Mamdani responded to a question about the broken promise to repair the center by acknowledging the relentless “betrayals” still faced by working people and others who continue to confront the failed promises of city government. He asked, how can people “continue to believe in democracy if that is their experience?”

He then committed to repair the center, noting, “It’s quite clear to me that the important thing to do here is not just to fulfill the promises you have made but also do your best to fulfill the promises that have been made prior to you.”

Noting that politicians “campaign in poetry but then govern in prose,” Omar urged the rally audience to “keep showing up” to keep the pressure on.

She also observed that City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who has not opposed demolition, has nevertheless recently called on the Parks Department to come up with a plan that is more responsive to the community.

Time for a reset

Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman was cheered by the crowd as he credited the “months and months and months of writing and showing up and protesting and rallying so that we could get to the point where the architect of the destruction of Tony Dapolito Center is no longer running for mayor.”

“It’s time for a reset,” he declared, noting how frequently elected leaders have betrayed the community. “We trusted five years ago when they closed the center and said, ‘we’re gonna make repairs and reopen it,’ that that’s what they would do. We trusted when they allocated $120 million for repairing the building that that’s what it would be used for, not for demolition.”

He continued, “But that’s not what’s happened. In fact, if we left them to their own devices, this building would be rubble. All because of a dream that the mayor had of some grand aquatic center he wants to build on this site, which nobody’s asking for.”

Berman also slammed city officials for claiming the building was beyond repair. “They say ‘the building’s old, and it needs repairs. We can’t repair old buildings.’ I mean, come on. If our city government is incapable of repairing an old building, what are they capable of?”

He continued, “One thing they are capable of is hypocrisy because the people who say that all work in city buildings like City Hall and the Parks Department headquarters [the Arsenal in Central Park] that are older than this, that needed more repairs than this…and that are now spanking new with their glorious fancy new offices…where they go to work every day.”

Local Democratic District Leader Mar Fitzgerald called the building “a powerhouse. Its bones are strong, its walls are filled with our history, and its purpose is still alive. Restoring it is visionary.” She called on Villagers to buttonhole elected officials “every damn time you see them” to insist on restoration and repair.

Community activists Francisco Gonzalez and Nick Caballero also addressed the rally. Cabellero, a Chelsea resident and former Parks Department employee, reminded the crowd that the center had been both a moneymaker for the city and crucial to young people across the boroughs, as it had once hosted a citywide association of 82 basketball leagues.