Marcy Houses Get A Modern Community Center

BEDFORD STUYVESANT – Elected officials and local residents joined together for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Marcy Houses Community Center.

The Center is located at 492 Marcy Avenue and opened at a time where residents need it most. The 3,200 square foot center and 3,200 square foot exterior deck will provide educational opportunities for children and adults, as well as a space for events and community engagement. The center was made possible with $14 million in capital funding from the Mayor ($4.6 million), Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams ($1,050,000), and Council Member Robert Cornegy, Jr. ($8.9 million).

“Today’s celebration, you know, there’s that famous phrase that success has many mothers and fathers. A lot of people contributed to this moment,” de Blasio said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. today. “Now again, a lot of people would have said it would be impossible to have this progress happen in the middle of a pandemic, but they don’t know Brooklyn do they? In Brooklyn, we keep going no matter what’s thrown at us, right?”

He was met with a lot of applause. De Blasio went on to say that a lot of people worked for years to make this community center possible.

“What you see behind you is not just a community center that this community deserves. What you see behind you is also part of the rebirth of New York City,” he continued. “This is part of our rebirth and our renewal, and what does it mean? It means we focus on our young people. That’s what this means investing in our young people. If we want them to have their bright futures, we need to invest in them.”

Giving back to the community is very important to Cornegy Jr., and he said he was choked up about the idea of reinvesting into the communities and making children feel valued. “Because when I talk to young people every single day, the one thing they say to me no matter how they say it, is that they don’t feel valued. They don’t feel valued in this system,” he said.

“This is the epitome of recovery and resiliency. Some people thought that meant in luxury developments… We know that investment in our children is true recovery and resiliency,” he said. “They said that two years ago, we stood on an empty lot talking about this development and how we were going to cut a ribbon, and I’ve been around city and city government long enough to know that there are enough snares and barriers to making something happen. But today is a testament that when you use your political will, and you want something to happen, it can happen.”

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez spoke about the presidential election and how “this is an uplifting moment for all of us… that we are finally electing a president that is going to work for the people, by the people.”

“When we come together, beautiful things happen. This is today how we build stronger together,” she said. “We are building our communities by really sending a message to our young people that we value you… And that our lives depend on providing resources and investing in human capital.”