Construction begins for new East Flatbush center named after late Rep. Shirley Chisholm
Developers say the community center will have features including a gym, pool and a kitchen.
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The groundbreaking for a new community center in East Flatbush is set to start on Monday. It will bear the name of the late Rep. Shirley Chisholm.
Developers say the community center will have features including a gym, pool and a kitchen. The plan was introduced in 2021 and is set to be behind the Nostrand Playground on Foster Avenue.
Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968. She had a focus of bringing positive change to Brooklyn and equity.
The community center is one of several locations named in Chisholm’s memory. Other locations across Brooklyn include a 32-feet statute of her in Prospect Park and Shirley Chisholm State Park which opened in 2019. The park is located off the Belt Parkway.
Among other trailblazers honored include Dr. Roy Hastick Sr., a Brooklyn businessman who also fought for equity in the borough. Plans call for a media lab in the community center with his name.
The idea for the project was first introduced after the community expressed outrage over the killing of 16-year-old Kimani Gray back in 2013 at the hands of police.
A slew of elected officials, advocates, and city agencies joined forces to bring the first-of-its-kind center to the neighborhood.
“This community center is about us coming together,” said Assembly Member Monique Chandler-Waterman. “It’s what Shirley Chisholm would have wanted.”
The building of the foundation of the new center is already underway and construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
