Asphalt Green, one of the New York City’s leading non-profit providers of quality sports and fitness programming, today announced that it has partnered with Fetner Properties to build a new state-of-the-art recreational and community center, which will expand its Upper East Side campus and serve thousands of residents at NYCHA’s Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers.
“Asphalt Green has been a proud member of this community for over three decades, and we are thrilled that this extension of our campus will allow us to expand our sports and fitness programming, and serve thousands of Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers residents,” said Maggy Siegel, executive director of Asphalt Green. “We are particularly pleased to provide permanent jobs for NYCHA residents at our new recreational and community center. We look forward to working with local stakeholders and elected officials to ensure this plan is a success for all members of the community.”
The 18,000-square-foot center will be located across the street from Asphalt Green’s current 5.5-acre campus, and will feature an indoor basketball court and an innovative rooftop turf field that will be used for soccer and other outdoor sports and activities. All Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers residents will have access to free and low-cost programming at the center, which is being constructed as part of Fetner’s new mixed-income residential development adjacent to Holmes Towers under the NextGen NYCHA program.
The new recreational and community center will be a crucial source of permanent, good-paying jobs for NYCHA residents. Asphalt Green and Fetner are committed to providing at least 50 percent of all permanent jobs at the new center to NYCHA residents. An onsite workforce recruitment center will ensure that residents can easily receive information on these job opportunities. Asphalt Green will also continue its current job-training program with Stanley M. Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers, which has already hired numerous NYCHA residents as full-time employees.
“The history of partnership and spirit of collaboration that Isaacs Center and Asphalt Green share has been instrumental in improving the health and wellness of the residents of the Isaacs/Holmes development,” said Gregory J Morris, president and executive director of the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center. “We look forward to the expansion of Asphalt Green to include a state-of-the-art recreational center that will help the children and families of public housing achieve and maintain healthy and active lifestyles, provide opportunities for young adults to explore career paths in fitness and hospitality, and provide seniors with access to the preventative and rehabilitative resources and activities they need to thrive as they age.”
Asphalt Green currently provides a wide range of free sports and fitness programs to Isaacs Houses residents of all ages, including free weekly swim lessons for children; scholarships for children to participate in Asphalt Green’s recreational sports leagues; free memberships for seniors; and special exercise classes for seniors. Additionally, Asphalt Green collaborates with the Stanley Isaacs Workforce Development program to provide employment opportunities for residents.
ABOUT ASPHALT GREEN
Asphalt Green is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting individuals of all ages and backgrounds achieve health through a lifetime of sports and fitness. Community service is at the core of the organization’s origin and the heart of its mission. A city-wide institution, Asphalt Green has two first class campuses: a beautiful 5½-acre Upper East Side campus and a 52,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Battery Park City. Asphalt Green will help more than 33,000 public school children be fit this year through free programs in schoolyards, gymnasiums, and pools across New York City. www.asphaltgreen.org
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