NEW YORK, CMC – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has opened a new recreation centre in the heart of the Caribbean community in Brooklyn, honouring the late Caribbean-American Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.
Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese immigrants, was born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn and died on January 1, 2005, in Ormond Beach, Florida. She made history as the first African American woman to be elected to the US Congress, serving in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983.
In 1972, Chisholm also became the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
The new center in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, is called the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center.
Mayor Mamdani was joined at the opening ceremony by New York City Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and several Caribbean-American legislators, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants; New York State Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and daughter of Haitian immigrants; Assembly Member Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, who represents the 58th Assembly District in Brooklyn; and New York City Councilmember Farah Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, who represents the 45th Council District in Brooklyn.
Mamdani said the new center is the first new Park recreation center in over a decade, the first ever in Central Brooklyn, and the largest recreation center in the whole borough.
Located in the heart of Little Haiti, the mayor said the center is expected to serve residents of East Flatbush and Midwood, with over 41,000 New Yorkers living within a 15-minute walk or transit ride of the new center.
Mamdani said the approximately 74,000-square-foot recreation center provides space for swimming, team sports, exercise, educational programming, and even A/V production in a media lab.
Like all Parks recreation centers, he said discounts are available for New Yorkers of all ages, and membership is entirely free for people 24 years and younger.
The center was fully opened to the public on Tuesday, and Mamdani said that for the first week, all New Yorkers will have the opportunity to use the brand-new center for one free day of their choosing, before becoming members.
“The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center will soon be alive with possibilities: kids learning to swim, cook, and grow their own food; friends coming together on the court; neighbors of every generation creating and connecting, from the gym to the podcast studio,” Mamdani said.
“This will be a space where the city meets itself, built to serve the people who call it home. Shirley Chisholm believed that politics should be accountable to everyday people,” he said, adding that “in that spirit, this center will stand as a living tribute to her legacy, proving that when we invest in truly affordable, accessible public spaces, we can build a city that works for all of us.”
Shimamura urged New Yorkers to cancel their gym subscription and “join us at Shirley Chisholm, where we have state-of-the-art amenities at a fraction of the cost.
“This new center means that over 41,000 New Yorkers now have an affordable space to exercise, learn, and connect with their neighbors, a fitting tribute to Chisholm’s commitment to community investment,” she said. “
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, said Chisholm was “not only a trailblazer and a champion for Brooklyn, but she was my mentor, my guide, and a constant reminder to lead with courage and conviction.
“Witnessing her name on a space that will uplift East Flatbush is deeply personal and profoundly meaningful to me,” said the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center is a living tribute to her ‘unbought and unbossed’ legacy, and a place where our young people can dream big, our families can gather, and our seniors can thrive.
“I look forward to seeing our community take full advantage of the variety of amenities this facility will provide. This center represents what Shirley Chisholm always fought for: community, opportunity, and a future where everyone has the chance to live healthy, safe,
Williams thanked the mayor, the Parks Department, and elected officials at the ceremony.
“There were no youth centers in East Flatbush, in this part. It was a shame that, as was mentioned, some communities have a plethora of these [recreation centers], and some communities have none,” he said. “This is a celebration with a lot more work to do.”
Bichotte Hermelyn said that, after years of advocacy, securing funding, and two years of construction, “it is deeply meaningful to see the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center finally open its doors to the community.
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