Pain is palpable after Navy Yard Clubhouse closing
The shuttering of the Navy Yard Boys & Girls Club––which serviced the Downtown Brooklyn, Navy Yard, and DUMBO neighborhoods––has led to a broad dispersal of the children who used to attend the site.
The building at 240 Nassau Street now stands closed and empty. The commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been contracted to accept proposals from developers and organizations interested in purchasing the location, which is directly across the street from NYCHA’s Farragut housing projects.
For now, the children who took part in Clubhouse activities are off attending summer programs at Fort Greene’s P.S. 067, at the Farragut Community Center, and even at the nearby The Church of The Open Door. There weren’t exactly enough spots in the varied summer programs for all the former Clubhouse kids to go to, so some kids have spent most of their summer close to home. With fall quickly approaching, the next challenge is to find out where former Clubhouse kids will be able to go for afterschool and extracurricular services.
“The idea of what is yet to come is very scary,” community activist Samantha Johnson acknowledged, “because there won’t be any community-focused space. As gentrification and other things start occurring, we’re finding ourselves in complete battles for spaces and services when we’re in a very ‘rich’ area, so to speak, that has an image of having resources. But when you’re in the middle of NYCHA residences and you’re in the middle of developers, who wins?” Johnson points out that the Clubhouse building was not only a space for neighborhood children, it had also become a community resource. There were pantry services, and it had a meeting space: It was a facility that catered to people of varied ages.
The loss of the space for the children is the most obvious, but everyone is going to notice the difference. With the former building available to be sold or leased out, a new owner could renovate the property or completely demolish and redevelop it.
Dorian Muller, a former Farragut resident who remains concerned about his former neighbors, was the first to raise the alarm about the closing of the Navy Yard Clubhouse. He remembers playing basketball there when he was a child. “So that’s why I said to myself that I was fighting for this Boys & Girls Club,” he said. “I didn’t ask nobody no questions; I didn’t start to talk about I’m going to fight. I just said, ‘Listen everybody, I’m fighting whether you’re going to walk with me or not.’
“You know, we lost a daycare center in Farragut to a federal halfway house,” Muller added, referencing the conversion of the former Farragut Tenants Day Care Center at 104 Gold Street into a 161-bed halfway house for federal prison parolees. “And you know why we lost that? It’s because we’re poor: Poor people lose everything. It’s because the downtown area is very inviting. And once you had 9/11, everybody wanted to live in that 11201 and that 11205-area code. These are some of the richest and most expensive area codes right now, even though we got people that’s in poverty across the street from the DUMBO area.
“It’s called DUMBO now, but when I lived there, it was called the Dots, with big rats. It smelled like eggs, and we just used to throw rocks against the dirty water.”
The trauma of gentrification
The Madison Square Boys & Girls Club Foundation is selling the Navy Yard Clubhouse because it faced hundreds of child sexual abuse lawsuits filed under the New York State Child Victims Act (CVA) against a former Foundation volunteer; claims were that the volunteer abused children beginning in the year 1948 and continued doing so up until 1984.
The Foundation filed for Chapter 11 restructuring in June of 2022 to save itself and said it found it could get the most money to pay those claims against them by selling their Navy Yard Clubhouse. The building could be sold for between $15 to $25 million.
This past July 28th, the Foundation announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court had accepted its reorganization plan, and it will be able to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“The confirmation of our plan is a significant step that puts us on a clear path to emerge from the reorganization process and continue serving New York City’s most vulnerable communities for decades and generations to come,” Tim McChristian, executive director of the Madison Foundation, said in a press release. McChristian said he hopes Foundation abuse survivors will be able to “continue to heal from the harm they suffered,” and he promised that Madison would continue “to support our community as one of the longest-serving providers of afterschool programming and youth development programs in underserved communities in New York City.
“We are highly optimistic that the Department of Youth and Community Development will approve our ability to continue to provide afterschool programs in the new school year at a local school to be determined,” he added.
With the Navy Yard Clubhouse shuttered, fears are that the former building could become yet another luxury rental. Since 2004, more than 20,000 new apartments have been built in the Downtown Brooklyn area where, according to the apartment listings site RentCafe, monthly rents now average $4,048 a month.
“In terms of gentrification, nobody deals with people having to move out, nobody deals with the trauma,” The Church of The Open Door’s Rev. Dr. Mark V.C. Taylor expressed to the AmNews.
He said the situation echoes the many times Black people are mistreated and damaged by the larger society, but nothing is done about it. There is little reflection on the pain that’s been caused. “So, a lot of times, when services are lost, when churches are closed, nobody deals with the trauma, nobody even asks about it.
“What is really so … I don’t even know the right words to describe it: crazy, insidious. What is so striking about the situation is that one person’s actions are impacting a whole community institution and impacting all of the kids, not only who have come but who will come.”
Samantha Johnson had helped form the ad hoc Farragut Fort Greene Coalition to try to save the Navy Yard Clubhouse. Now she says the Coalition is thinking about the future: “We’re thinking about what it means to have transparency and accountability in our community. We’re thinking about how we build this out to where the Coalition is a central source for information and how do we deal with issues in the community like loss of spaces, community-based work, and therapy. We’re really focused on the Boys & Girls Club right now, but we don’t know if we’re going be talking about another community center in the next few years, you know, we don’t know what we might be doing. So, our Coalition is very intentional about trying to get information out to the best of our ability.”
Those interested in contacting the Farragut Fort Greene Coalition can reach them via email at FarragutFortGreeneCoalition@gmail.com.
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‘Anti-Rat Day of Action’ comes to Harlem
Sorry Master Splinter. New York City’s first Anti-Rat Day of Action will be held this Saturday, Aug 12 in Harlem. The event takes place at 137th Street’s Elizabeth Langley Memorial Garden.
The event offers locals insight and strategies toward reducing rodent encounters by cutting the critters off from their food source. It is co-hosted by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the BUFNY II/Harlem Street Tenants Association.
“It’s still early, but these numbers show what we’re doing is working and that we are moving in the right direction,” said Mayor Adams. “Every food scrap that we keep out of the trash and every black bag that we keep off the street is a meal that we’re taking out of a hungry rodent’s stomach.
“It takes all of us to win the war on rats, so I encourage New Yorkers to keep composting, keep putting your trash in containers, and I hope to see you out there at one of our ‘Anti-Rat Community Days of Action.’”
The city claims within the rat mitigation zones like Harlem’s, reported sightings have been reduced by 45%, as of late July. It also says total rat-related 311 calls are down by 20%, which was reiterated by rat czar Kathleen Corradi at a recent public safety briefing.
“New York City Parks, New York City Schools and NYCHA are doubling down on rat reduction, utilizing seasonal staff and pest control teams to make sure our city’s properties are inhospitable to rats,” she said. “They’re removing harbourage, managing waste, and deploying extermination techniques to make sure we’re knocking down rat populations. Citywide, we’re cutting off rats from their food because we know, if you feed them, you breed them.
“Through DSNY’s new curb set out times and rules around containerizations for food establishments, we’re systematically taking away rats’ access to fruit food on our curbs and making New York a cleaner city.”
Earlier this month, food-related businesses were restricted from dumping waste in black trash bags directly on the curb and are now mandated to place garbage in containers unless it’s collected by a loading dock, or if the contents are recyclables. Such black bags can leak and attract rats, says the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY).
According to Corradi, rats communicate largely through pheromones. So spraying down a curb is the best bet to keep personal rodent sightings to Pixar movies. Corradi suggests using a mix of one part bleach and nine parts water.
As of press time, there have been 24 rat sightings reported to the city this month from Harlem’s five main zip codes. Half were seen in multi-family apartments.
While uptown will be the first to host an anti-rat day, the city says each borough will receive one. Harlem is one of four neighborhoods picked for rat mitigation zones, with the others being Bronx Grand Concourse, Bed-Stuy/Bushwick, and East Village/Chinatown.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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Go With The Flo
Congratulations to Ciara and her husband Russell Wilson! The celebrity couple are expecting a new baby. The songstress recently announced that she is pregnant and are anticipating baby number 4 — her third child with the Denver Broncos quarterback. Yours truly thought Ciara looked pregnant at her party last week for her new Gap x LoveShackFancy campaign because the outfit she modeled was very baggy, as opposed to her usual skin-revealing attire. In a video on Instagram, Ciara dances by a pool, showing off a pretty big baby bump……
In celebration of this year’s 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, BET Her is premiering a new interview and performance series called BET Her Live! Hosted by Yo-Yo. The show premieres on August 11 and will feature four individual episodes showcasing Lil Mo, Da Brat, 702 and MC Lyte. BET Her Live! Hosted by Yo-Yo was taped in Las Vegas……
The 5th Dimension’s Grammy award-winning songstress, Florence LaRue, gives her insight on beauty, style, diet, fitness, attitude, and being able to age gracefully in her first book, “Grace in your Second Act,” with Jenny Paschall, published by WestBow Press. Says LaRue, “I want my readers to take away from my book that there is a significant difference in getting old and growing old!”……
Bernard Chiu and D-Nice celebrated former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on his new book, “Our Unfinished March,” along with Kem, whose new tome is called “Share My Life.” Kem gave a special performance. The event took place August 7 in The Edgartown Room at The Harborview Hotel on Martha’s Vineyard. ……
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Jets and Giants take micro strides toward larger goals
Training camp is now roughly two weeks in for the Giants and Jets. However, the process of building a Super Bowl-caliber playoff contender began at the end of last season.
It is a perpetual endeavor, even for the Kansas City Chiefs, which has the best football player in the world in quarterback Patrick Mahomes and has played in three of the last four Super Bowls, winning two.
The Jets’ acquisition of Aaron Rodgers in April in a trade with the Green Bay Packers is viewed as being the team’s much-needed final piece to form a title contender. The Jets are a combined 11-23 over the past two seasons, finishing last in the AFC East both years. Their glaring weakness over the past two seasons after building a strong roster was at the quarterback position.
Rodgers, a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player, the last awarded for his sterling 2021 campaign, brings leadership, a mastery of the game, and a steady hand at the game’s most consequential spot on the roster. He is an invaluable resource for second-year head coach Robert Saleh.
Thus far, Rodgers, who spent 18 seasons with the Packers and turns 40 in December, has been part coach, mentor, advocate and future Hall of Fame QB to the Jets. All facets of his vast experience are needed to fast-track the Jets toward achieving their larger goals.
A consequential long-term value Rodgers has brought to the Jets is being an exemplar for third-year quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall draft pick by the Jets in 2021, who drew strong comparisons by many skill evaluators to Rodgers while playing at Brigham Young University. The 24-year-old Wilson has been the antithesis of an All-Pro in his brief NFL career.
“I hope this time for him is like a deep inhale and exhale, and he can really take a breath and pause and deal with the disappointment of last year and the frustration, and then channel it,” Rodgers said of Wilson during the first week of training camp. “I feel like he has, just re-channel it as a positive and focus on the opportunity in front of him to learn with a guy who loves him and cares about him and wants him to be great and wants him to do incredible things every day and be better.”
Rodgers didn’t play in the Jets’ preseason opener last Thursday, a 21-16 loss to the Browns in the league’s annual Hall of Fame game. He isn’t expected to play much, if at all, in their remaining three preseason games, including Saturday’s matchup versus the Carolina Panthers on the road.
The Giants ended their five-year playoff drought last season, going 9-7-1, securing a wildcard spot, and beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in a wildcard matchup before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-7 in the divisional round.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll and his staff are scaffolding as they continue to construct the foundation for sustained success. They held joint practices this week with the Detroit Lions and will play them tomorrow in the first preseason games for both teams.
“I think it’s kind of the next step for training camp when you practice against another team,” said Daboll, according to Giants.com. “I think there is competitive juices; the coaches have it, the players have it, but we are going to try to practice the right way against a really good team. I think the program that the Lions have and what (head coach) Dan (Campbell) and (general manager) Brad (Holmes) have been able to do has really been outstanding, so it will be a good test for us.”
Giants tight end Darren Waller added that the practices versus the Lions have a distinctly different feel than going up against teammates.
“Just getting more acclimated to game-like situations and knowing that it’s a physical game at the end of the day,” said Waller. “It’s not always going to be 7-on-7 and people tagging off on you. It’s a good acclimation.”
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Jake Paul drops Nate Diaz, earns unanimous victory
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul (7-1, 5 KOs) defeated MMA legend Nate Diaz by a unanimous decision in their matchup on Saturday night held at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Paul dropped Diaz in the second round and dominated the fight in earning a 98-91, 97-92, and 98-91 victory.
“He’s real tough,” said the 26-year-old Paul, a native of Cleveland, afterward. “But tough in this sport doesn’t work.” Paul’s only defeat since embarking on a boxing career and making his debut on January 30, 2020, was against Tommy Fury three years later (January 27, 2023). The bout ended in a decision for Fury. Two judges scored it for Fury and one for Paul. In upcoming fights, Emanuel Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) will defend his WBO junior lightweight title against Oscar Valdez Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night on ESPN. Navarrete hasn’t lost in over a decade, and Valdez, who defeated Adam Lopez in the co-main event on the Haney vs. Lomachenko fight card, suffered the only loss of his career to Shakur Stevenson in April of last year.
“What has been missing in my career is precisely a victory against someone like Valdez,” said Navarrete. “(Valdez) says he’s going to knock my head off, but let’s see whose head comes off first. Let’s see what Valdez has to offer, and let’s see how much he can endure and how much I can endure, too.”
Valdez assessed his opponent before the match.
“It’s one of the most important fights of my career because it means everything for me to come back and win that title,” he said. “We all know that Navarrete has an awkward style. We might not have the perfect sparring that can emulate his style. But we try to imitate him in the mitt work and strategy. He’s not your typical fighter that throws straight shots.”
Also on Saturday, Emmanuel Rodríguez (21-2, 13 KOs) will take on Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs) for the vacant IBF bantamweight at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Maryland and on Showtime. Both fighters discussed the matchup at a recent press conference.
“I’m happy to have this chance to become a world champion again,” Rodriguez said. “We’re gonna go out there to win in spectacular fashion and my goal is to show that I’m the best fighter in the world at 118 pounds. My goal is to become undisputed at bantamweight.”
Lopez is eagerly looking forward to the opportunity.
“I’m very excited that the time is almost here to fight for a world title,” Lopez said. “We’ve had a great training camp and everyone has sacrificed and worked hard so that we’re at our best on August 12.”
On another card this Saturday, in London, United Kingdom, former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua takes on Robert Helenius, who is a replacement for Dillian Whyte, who tested positive for an illegal performance-enhancing substance.
Joshua suffered the first loss of his career to a replacement fighter, Andy Ruiz, at Madison Square Garden in June 2019. Meanwhile, Helenius suffered a first-round knockout to Deontay Wilder at Barclays Center in October 2022.
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