John Street Recreation Center Holds Grand Opening

The East Rockaway community gathered on Sunday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to christen the brand new John Street Recreation Center, which aims to be a fun and safe alternative to the streets for local kids.

The center was made possible in part through a grant provided by New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and the efforts of Mayor Francis T. Lenahan and his board of trustees.

According to Recreation Director Rick Kappel, giving kids a place to gather and make friends in a secure environment was of paramount importance to the village.

"We wanted to give kids a place to go on the weekends and after school," Kappel said.

The village will be running various programs at the center. Two Nintendo Wii systems, donated by Nintendo, are just one activity for kids. The village plans to run Zumba classes, arts and crafts programs, show movies, run educational and youth fitness classes, and more. 

"It's going to be a real hangout spot for the kids," Kappel said.

Other amenities available for members include a full-size basketball court and baseball field.

Kappel said that access to the recreation center will be via a "leisure pass" purchased for a nominal fee, which will allow the bearer to use the facility during its normal days of operation, which will be Monday through Saturday.

Sunday's ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by local politicians, dignitaries, religious leaders, parents and their children, all eager to get the John Street Recreation Center off on the right foot.

Before the ribbon-cutting, Mayor Lenahan informed the gathered crowd as to how important this day was to East Rockaway as a whole.

"This project represents just the beginning of our commitment to the future of our children,” Lenahan said. “This building will be a safe haven for our youth, and it will allow them to enjoy the benefits of many of our recreation programs.”

The opening ceremonies, which stretched well into the afternoon, included speeches, flag football games, refreshments, and raffle prizes.

Local resident Morgan Avila seemed to echo the community's overwhelmingly positive sentiments regarding the new Recreation Center.

"I grew up here, and my children grew up here," Avila said. "We didn't have the facilities that we needed. I think a lot of the children in the village got lost because they didn't have this community camaraderie to pull the kids together,  that they have now."