Community organizers hosted a "visioning session" last week, bringing community organizations and LES residents together to brainstorm possible uses for the Stanton Street building, and plan to follow up with a series of workshops – starting tomorrow.
Lions Gate Field Benefits From Parks Department s DIY Renovation | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side thelodownny.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thelodownny.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
This story was reported by Zach Williams.
Where the Parks Department sees a place to store stacks of pristine work gloves, rakes and other supplies, local activists envision a community center. Reconciling the two designs on a Stanton Street building within Sara D. Roosevelt Park remains as elusive now as 20 years ago.
Neighborhood parks received more than $8 million last year as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Community Parks Initiative. That money will fund improvements at three Lower East Side parks and followed a renewed interest in recent years within the neighborhood to secure under-utilized park buildings for community use. Yet, it remains to be seen whether this change in the political winds will result in concrete plans to transform the Stanton Street building into a community center, as well as a number of other under-utilized park buildings throughout the neighborhood.