Community center construction still not completed

It?s been nearly 10 years since construction started on a Brooklyn community center, and residents in the housing complex nearby say the delay is affecting everyone. Tenants in the Marcus Garvey Housing

News 12 Staff

Apr 21, 2008, 7:47 PM

Updated 6,017 days ago

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It?s been nearly 10 years since construction started on a Brooklyn community center, and residents in the housing complex nearby say the delay is affecting everyone.
Tenants in the Marcus Garvey Housing Complex say that the playground that used to be in front of their house was dug up nearly 10 years ago so that construction for a community center could begin. They say that not only did the construction leave the complex?s teenagers without a court, but it also affects kids and seniors.
Police give out loitering tickets to anyone who stands or sits on the benches in front of the building, tenants say. They say the tickets can cost up to $75 or $100 each.
Seniors are forced to take the long way out of the building, since the construction is fenced off and a street where people would normally exit the building is blocked.
?We don?t have nowhere to hang out at, so we hang out in front of the building, and that brings problems with the police,? Allan Cook, a tenant, says.
Some tenants say that they were kids when the construction started, and now that they are adults, they want the center to open so their kids have somewhere to go.
News 12 Brooklyn reached out to the New York City Housing Authority about the completion of the community center. Calls have not been returned.