Parks Department Says Planned New Rec Center at 388 Hudson Will Be Built Only if Dapolito Is Demolished

By Phyllis Eckhaus

The Parks Department has again confirmed plans to demolish the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center. It has been closed since 2020, despite $120 million previously allocated to its repair and Mayor Mamdani’s campaign promise to restore the 118-year-old landmarked facility at Clarkson Street and Seventh Avenue South.

Speaking before Community Board 2’s Parks and Waterfront Committee on September 9, Parks Department official Steve Simon said that the plans for a new indoor recreation center across the street, at 388 Hudson, were dependent on the demolition of Dapolito. When asked whether the plans were an “either/or” proposition, contingent on not restoring Dapolito, he replied, “Basically, yes.”

Simon described Dapolito as impossible to repair and modernize. “The constraints in dealing with Dapolito are structural, they deal with layout, they deal with all sorts of other questions, apart from finances,” he said. “Going back and looking at it time and time again…and realizing that the needs of this community could not possibly be accommodated by that building if we were going to comply with current safety and accessibility standards, let alone solve the structural problems with the building, we took the community board’s direction and…went to 388 Hudson to create a brand new state-of-the-art facility, which would satisfy the needs of this community.”

Simon did not address a study by expert architects and engineers commissioned by the Parks Department that concluded the opposite — that Dapolito could readily be retrofitted as well as repaired. The study only came to light this past spring, following a public records request from advocacy groups. Also revealed was an email from a Parks Department staffer confirming that Dapolito “can be fully repaired.”

Don’t Talk About Dapolito

The official agenda at the meeting was to hear the Parks Department plans for 388 Hudson and to offer the department feedback on its design and programming. The new rec center — part of a planned 400-foot-tall tower that includes affordable housing — must go through a lengthy land use review process and is not expected to be completed for at least five years.

Committee chair Rich Caccappolo began by warning members of the public — many of whom had “Save the Dapolito Rec Center!” signs — that if they sought to “hijack” the meeting by talking about Dapolito, he would shift the meeting to a business session and foreclose public comment.

Despite the warning, people talked about Dapolito. CB2 member Mar Fitzgerald “respectfully” pushed back, suggesting that the programming and design of 388 Hudson are “intrinsically connected” to the plans for Dapolito and “we would be remiss” not to consider both spaces together, especially given the potential over-subscription to and space limits of 388 Hudson. “There’s a whole other rec center across the street that may be able to support whatever 388 lacks. So let’s just have a conversation about both,” she said, lamenting that “the community feels silenced.”

Jonathan Mellon from Village Preservation identified himself as a former Parks Department employee and noted that when he worked at Parks, “We would look at all the sites together and come up with a plan, and that just seems like common sense.”

Villager Anita Isola said, “It sets a very bad precedent” to demolish a landmark, “weakening landmarks law” and “destroying the trust” placed in government officials.

Democratic candidate for state assembly David Siffert said, “This community has been very clear about what they want, and they want the Dapolito Center.”

Other speakers bemoaned the lack of information and discussion about Dapolito, describing the meeting as “surreal.” Gil Horowitz, who noted he was a CB2 and Parks Committee member back when Tony Dapolito chaired CB2, asserted that the late activist and preservationist “would be turning over in his grave” at plans to demolish the landmarked community hub.

Perhaps five speakers — identifying themselves as city residents from outside the Village — accused Dapolito supporters of acting in bad faith, opposing affordable housing, and delaying the construction of affordable housing at 388 Hudson.

Simon touched on, but did not detail, plans for the Dapolito site — specifically a larger outdoor pool with locker room facilities. He said the Parks Department is collaborating with the Keith Haring Foundation on plans to preserve the artist’s mural painted on the walls around the pool.

Advocates and Public Officials Speak Out

CB2 members continued discussion in the business session. Frederica Sigal described Dapolito as a “money pit” and expressed relief that Parks no longer plans to save it. Jeannine Kiely observed that fears that Parks could sell the Dapolito site to real estate developers were misplaced, as the site is state-designated parkland.

CB2 is on record with a resolution calling for the repair and restoration of Dapolito. Members proposed to flesh out further recommendations with regard to its use.

Advocates for Dapolito have been galvanized since this summer when Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura defended the planned demolition of Dapolito as “more efficient” than repair. Village Preservation and the Coalition to Save the Public Recreation Center Downtown responded that the Parks Department is the owner and steward of literally scores of historic landmarked buildings and structures throughout the city, including the Washington Square Arch, the department’s headquarters in the Central Park Arsenal, and most of the rec centers in Manhattan, which, like Dapolito, were first constructed as public bath houses. If demolition is rationalized as more efficient than repair, advocates contend no landmark is safe.

Importantly, the two local elected officials with sway over final approvals for 388 Hudson also support the preservation and use of Dapolito. In August, Manhattan’s District 3 Council Member Carl Wilson and Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal jointly wrote the mayor and others, urging that, “at a minimum. the visible facade of Dapolito must be preserved” — and that Parks should “maximize preservation” and “do everything in its power to maintain as many recreation services as possible within the existing space.”

THROUGH THE FENCE AT DAPOLITO, L-R:, the Keith Haring mural, empty pool, and side of the Dapolito center. Photo: Alec Pruchnicki.