Brooklyn’s Largest Recreation Center Opens After Years Of Delays

BROOKLYN, NY — A long-awaited recreation center opened in East Flatbush, delivering a 74,000-square-foot public facility inside Nostrand Playground and marking the largest recreation center in Brooklyn.

Named for Shirley Chisholm, the Brooklyn-born congresswoman and first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the center includes a competition-sized swimming pool, gym, walking track, fitness rooms, teaching kitchen and public plaza. The building features a green roof and meets LEED Gold environmental standards.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the center as a space rooted in community use and access, built to serve residents across generations.

“The unbought and unbossed Shirley Chisholm was one of one,” Mamdani said. “She was a proud daughter of Flatbush… She did it on her own terms, without institutional support, endorsements from political king makers or big dollar donors.”

New York City Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimomura described the center as a response to long-standing gaps in access to recreation and youth space.

“Unfortunately, there are many neighborhoods across the city where resources that all New Yorkers deserve are often held out of reach,” Shimomura said.

She said the center was designed to serve residents of all ages, from children to seniors and to reflect the surrounding community.

“I promise that we will do everything we can to make Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center a point of pride for generations of Brooklynites,” Shimomura said.

The building also houses permanent artwork developed through a yearlong community residency.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso traced the project’s origins back more than a decade, recalling conversations with young people who lacked safe places to gather.

“They said, ‘Well, where do you want us to go?’” Reynoso said. “And we said, ‘That’s a good point.’

Reynoso said the absence of youth centers in parts of East Flatbush prompted community leaders to push for a permanent solution.

“We have to be able to provide a space that we’re telling them to go to that is constructive,” he said.

The recreation center includes a six-lane pool with accessibility features, a three-lane walking track, multipurpose gym, cardio and weight rooms, afterschool space with an outdoor play area, a supervised teen-only space and the Dr. Roy A. Hastick Sr. Media Lab.

What Does The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center Offer?

• Competition-sized six-lane swimming pool with ramp, chairlift and stairs

• Three-lane indoor walking track

• Full-size gym for basketball, volleyball and pickleball

• Cardio, weightlifting and spin rooms

• Teaching kitchen

• Afterschool space with outdoor play area

• Supervised teen-only space

• Dr. Roy A. Hastick Sr. Media Lab with A/V mixing room

• Multipurpose rooms for classes, events and community use

• Public plaza and green roof

How Much Do Memberships Cost?

• Youth under 18 and young adults ages 18–24: Free

• Adults ages 25–61 (all centers): $150 annually or $75 for six months

• Adults ages 25–61 (no indoor pool): $100 annually or $50 for six months

• Seniors 62+, veterans and people with disabilities: $25 annually

• IDNYC holders ages 25–61: 10% discount on adult memberships

New Yorkers can register for a membership by completing a recreation center registration form and presenting identification and payment in person at any city recreation center.