Local park gets new track

Detective Keith L. Williams Park in Jamaica held the grand opening of their new track and synthetic turf playing field recently.
NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Councilmember Leroy Comrie, who allocated $3 million to the project, Queens Borough Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski and kids from CityParks Track & Field camp and Parks & Recreation's Summer Sports Experience program were on hand for the festivities.
Participants from the two groups tested the new track, racing across the inaugural finish line. &#8220We are thrilled to cut the ribbon on the track and playing field in honor of Detective Keith L. Williams,” Benepe said. &#8220Detective Williams was dedicated to his police work as well as to this park, where he started the Keith Round Ball Classics basketball tournament. Thanks to the backing of Councilmember Comrie, we have been able to build top-rate athletic venues here that will improve the quality of life in this Queens community.”
City Parks Track & Field program offers New York City kids (ages 5-16) the chance to learn the hurdles and relay races, the long jump, shot put, and the javelin throw.
Parks & Recreation's Summer Sports Experience provides teens (ages 13-15) with intensive sequential training and skill development in several sports - including track, tennis, basketball and others. The pilot program, which offers quality athletics and fitness programming to teens in high-need areas, has recruited coaches from the Department of Education and area colleges, college athletes and other sports professionals to offer the highest level of training. For instance, Richard James, a member of the 2004 Jamaican Olympic Team, who serves as the track coach at Detective Keith L. Williams' Summer Sports Experience program.
In addition to the new track and field facilities, the Detective Keith L. Williams Park contains a variety of recreational facilities, including Liberty Pool - which also received renovations last summer with funds allocated by Comrie - four handball courts, two basketball courts, ten tennis courts, a playground, a spray shower, and the Detective Keith L. Williams Recreation Center.
The park was renamed in 1991 in honor of Detective Keith L. Williams, a Jamaica resident and dedicated police officer, who lost his life in the line of duty. It had previously been named Liberty Park, for one of the streets that bounds it. The site was acquired by the City in September of 1936.