PLAY BALL, BED-STUY! NYC PARKS, NY LIBERTY, AND BROOKLYN NETS UNVEIL REFURBISHED BASKETBALL COURTS AT JACKIE ROBINSON PARK PLAYGROUND

Project is the latest in $2.1 million initiative by Social Justice Fund to upgrade courts in Brooklyn neighborhoods with acute levels of gun violence

Today, NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa joined Social Justice Fund Executive Director Gregg Bishop, New York State Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, students from P.S. 21 Crispus Attucks Elementary, and members of the community to celebrate a full renovation of the basketball courts at Jackie Robinson Park Playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. This project is the latest renovation in the $2.1 million initiative by Social Justice Fund in partnership with Parks to upgrade play spaces in Brooklyn neighborhoods experiencing acute levels of gun violence.

The $663,000 project renovated two full-size basketball courts at the popular neighborhood park to provide new playing surfaces in teal and gray, upgraded backboards with hoops and nets, new benches, and a colorful mural. The renovation work was sponsored by the Liberty and the Nets through Parks' Adopt-a-Park program.

"All New Yorkers deserve safe, welcoming places to play. These upgrades at Jackie Robinson Park Playground are delivering beautiful, state-of-the-art play spaces for Bed-Stuy residents to enjoy," said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. "Thanks to this wonderful partnership with the Social Justice Fund, we've made over $2 million worth of improvements to basketball courts throughout Brooklyn, focusing on neighborhoods dealing with acute gun violence. These projects are a great example of how investing in our public spaces can make our city more safe, more equitable, and more livable."

"We want to make sure that everyone in Bed-Stuy has a court that they love, a court that they want to play in and that they feel safe in," said Gregg Bishop, Executive Director of the Social Justice Fund. "This is our commitment to Brooklyn, and we will continue to focus on resources that help Brooklynites achieve economic mobility, focus on racial justice, and continue to invest in the community."

The complete renovation of the basketball courts at Jackie Robinson Park Playground included a full-depth repaving of the asphalt surface and new color seal coating and striping in teal, black, and gray. Parks also installed new polycarbonate backboards to replace the existing backboards, hoops, and nets. Around the courts, Parks installed a new bottle filler for hydration, added new benches for spectators and athletes, and replaced fencing.

In addition to the renovations at Jackie Robinson Park Playground, the Social Justice Fund has sponsored renovations to basketball courts at Breukelen Ballfields in East New York, Fox Playground in Flatlands, and in Sunset Park. The sites were selected in consultation with NYC Parks as part of the Social Justice Fund's racial justice initiative. By targeting these investments in neighborhoods with acute levels of gun violence, as well as in the Social Justice Fund's corporate backyard of Sunset Park, NYC Parks and the Social Justice Fund aim to provide a new resource for local organizations and serve as a catalyst for additional investments in those communities.

This playground honors former Dodger Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), the first African-American Major League Baseball player. Renowned as a top-notch second baseman and a fierce competitor, Robinson led the Dodgers to six World Series appearances. He retired in 1956 with a lifetime batting average of .311, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.