On Wednesday, the NYC Parks Department announced it has dropped its plans to seek to replace the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center with an unspecified “mixed use” development, which would have likely been an oversized tower and included non–parks and recreation uses. Village Preservation and thousands of our members had demanded that this site remain a recreational facility, so this change from the original plan is a significant victory for our efforts.

However, the Parks Department also announced that it will continue to pursue demolition of the beloved landmarked center, claiming that repairing the building — which it has kept closed and allowed to deteriorate for five years — would be too difficult and too expensive. Department officials admitted that they hadn’t even studied the possibility of repairing the center so it could be reopened with new and different recreational uses (new public recreation facilities are to be included in a new development across the street at 388 Hudson Street). In a slightly positive sign, the Parks Department did indicate it might be open to exploring reusing some elements of the existing building in a new facility it would seek to construct on the site. The vast majority of those testifying at the meeting condemned the demolition plans and called for repair and reopening of the center.

So we’ve made progress, but still have a lot of work to do. The city’s justifications for wanting to demolish the building were spurious and based upon conditions common to so many buildings in our neighborhoods, which cannot be considered acceptable rationales for demolition. The building clearly needs repairs, and can certainly be reconfigured, expanded, and even reconstructed to best serve evolving needs and uses. But the quest to demolish this historic, landmarked, and beloved structure that has served generations is environmentally irresponsible, unnecessary, and would set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of other landmarked buildings in our neighborhoods. Community Board 2 is accepting testimony on the latest proposal from the Parks Department through February 14.

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