By Steven Goodstein
The often discussed possibility of a Samuel Field Y indoor sports facility has finally come to fruition.
City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz held a press conference last week at the Bay Terrace Center of the Samuel Field Y Tuesday to announce that more than $2 million in funding will go toward the construction of a brand-new, permanent indoor sports complex.
The sports center will provide the community with a year-round indoor area that will feature baseball, football, soccer and tennis, as well as multiple basketball courts, lacrosse turf fields and a fitness space.
The project will also result in the expansion of the center’s programs for pre-K, after-school students and seniors and provide space for the area’s schools, including nearby PS 169 in Bay Terrace.
The 40,000-square-foot, climate-controlled, permanent indoor sports complex will be built in place of the Samuel Field Y’s temporary tennis bubble. A timetable has not yet been set for completion of the project.
Samuel Field Y hopes to start construction in September 2019 with the complex slated for completion in June 2020.
“This project has been talked about for years and now we have made the dream of a permanent sports complex and community center a reality for Bayside and all of northeast Queens,” Vallone said July 10. “Samuel Field Y has been an incredible resource and this project will allow year-round use of many of their programs and services for the entire community, especially our kids and seniors.”
“This will be a state-of-the-art recreational facility for the growing families of Northeast Queens,” Katz said.
For the project, Vallone and Katz each allocated $500,000 while City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) secured an additional $1,102,000.
“This funding will create a state-of-the-art, indoor recreational space that tens of thousands of New Yorkers will enjoy each year – rain or shine, sun or snow,” Johnson said. “I look forward to seeing the completion of Samuel Field Y’s sports complex and all the ways the community will enjoy this space.”
Samuel Field Y, a non-profit, multi-service agency, has provided programs and services for over 60 years to more than 35,000 people annually.
“We want to play, stay and raise our families here,” said Danielle Elman, president and CEO of Samuel Field Y, who is a lifelong Queens resident and grew up in the northeast part of the borough. “This complex was desperately needed, and once it is built, it will be meaningful to everybody and beneficial to their needs.”
The event, which was held next to the swimming pool, was also attended by Samuel Field Y Board Chairman Lawrence Gottlieb, as well as community members who regularly attend the Y.
“The creation of a year-round indoor sports and recreation facility in Bayside is transformational for the Samuel Field Y,” Gottlieb said. “It will allow us to expand our service offerings to the community and enhance our existing services.”
Last month, Vallone announced that he had brought home a $20 million budget for District 19, which includes over $8 million for schools and $6 million for parks.
Reach Steven Goodstein by e-mail at sgood
