You are reading

$92 Million Recreation Center to Be Built at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans

NYC Parks Queens Borough Commissioner Michael Dockett, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards,

Queens Borough Parks Commissioner Michael Dockett (L) and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (R) announce plans for a new $95 million recreation center at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans (NYC Parks/ Daniel Avila)

Dec. 20, 2021 By Michael Dorgan

Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans will soon get a new recreation center via a $92 million investment from Mayor de Blasio’s office, city officials announced Friday.

The new center will be 35,000 square feet in size and will be located by Merrick Boulevard, between 116th Avenue and Baisley Boulevard.

The new facility will consist of multipurpose rooms, fitness rooms and a gym.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens Borough Parks Commissioner Michael Dockett, Council Member I. Daneek Miller and other local leaders made the announcement in front of the proposed site Friday.

NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff said the new building will offer residents a new public place to come together.

“This new center will be a space where community members from St. Albans and the surrounding neighborhoods can socialize, get fit, learn and have fun,” Fialkoff said in a statement.

She said the city is hosting a community input meeting on Jan. 25. and is calling on residents to submit design ideas for the structure.

Roy Wilkins Park is a sprawling 54-acre park known for its outdoor tennis, basketball and handball courts as well as its sports field.

There is already a recreation center located at the park that has an indoor swimming pool and indoor basketball hall. That center is by Baisley Boulevard.

The park was named after the prominent civil rights leader Roy Wilkins who also served as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wilkins died in 1981 at the age of 80.

Community Board 12 Chair Reverend Carlene Thorbs and Executive Director of the Southern Queens Park Association Jacqueline Boyce also attended the event Friday.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Major drug bust in Floral Park, nearly four tons of illegal cannabis worth $10M seized: DA

Nearly four tons of illegal cannabis and related products, valued at around $10 million, were seized, and two men were arrested during a raid at a Floral Park storage facility on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the details on Thursday, following the execution of a search warrant that day. Awad Aziz, 31, and Muneer Kassim, 34, both of Brooklyn, were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday night on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance after authorities discovered a smaller quantity of crystal meth and Psilocybin products during the raid.

Teenager busted for fatal shooting in St. Albans that killed a father of three from Cambria Heights on Monday: NYPD

A 15-year-old boy was arrested early Wednesday morning and booked at the 113th Precinct in Jamaica in connection to the fatal shooting of a Cambria Heights father of three in St. Albans on Monday afternoon.

The youngster, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting William Alcindor, 66, as he was driving on Farmers Boulevard just before 5 p.m. on Monday.