The Courts of Dreams Foundation completed successful fundraising efforts that resulted in the restoration of two outdoor basketball courts that opened at Woodlawn Playground in October 2022. This project would not have been possible without the partnership formed with the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.

Parks Joins With Courts Of Dreams Foundation To Open Reconstructed Basketball Courts

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined Courts of Dreams Foundation Chairman Natasha Cornstein, former New York Knick Larry Johnson, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Parks Committee Vice Chair of Community Board 8 Laura Spalter, children from the St. James Recreation Center, Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, Riverdale Neighborhood House and Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, and members of Bronx Community Board 8, the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, and the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy to cut the ribbon on $162,000 in renovations at Van Cortlandt Park’s Classic Playground basketball courts. After the ribbon cutting, the New York Knicks clinic coaching staff along, with Knicks legend Larry Johnson, hosted a basketball clinic for children attending the event.

“Thanks to funding from the Courts of Dreams Foundation and Mayor Bloomberg, Classic Playground now has brand new basketball courts for players of all ages and stages, from kids to college students and even weekend warriors,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Van Cortlandt Park, the City’s fourth largest green space, is home to everything from bocce courts, and cricket fields to horseback riding trails. We are thrilled to add these newly renovated courts to one of the Bronx’s most popular parks.”

“We are thrilled with the results of our most recent collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and look forward to hearing the laughter and voices of children enjoying these newly renovated courts for years to come,” said Natasha Cornstein, co-founder and chair of the Courts of Dreams Foundation.

The $162,000 project is funded in equal amounts by Mayor Bloomberg and the Courts of Dreams Foundation, and will reconstruct the park’s two existing basketball courts, including the installation of new asphalt pavement, backboards, court lines, benches, and the cleaning of the site’s storm drains.

The Courts of Dreams Foundation is an organization whose mission is to restore and maintain outdoor basketball courts for children in NYC neighborhoods and around the world, fostering healthy, safe, communities while promoting the values of basketball, such as team work, mutual respect and leadership.

Van Cortlandt Park is the city’s fourth largest and one of its prime destinations for outdoor recreation. It is home to the country’s first municipal golf course and the Bronx’s largest freshwater lake. The park is known nationwide for its challenging cross-country trails, which are a proving ground each fall for runners at all levels of the sport. Van Cortlandt’s 65-acre Parade Ground, which contains fields for baseball, softball, cricket, soccer, and football, was recently reconstructed.

Originally posted on nycgovparks.org.

Parks To Cut Ribbon On Improvements To Basketball Courts At Wallenberg Playground

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined legendary New York Knicks guard John Starks, Courts of Dreams Foundation Chair Natasha Cornstein and neighborhood kids to celebrate improvements to the basketball courts at Wallenberg Playground in Highbridge Park on August 4, 2010.

The $90,000 project includes the installation of new backstops, pavements, benches and plantings. The Courts of Dreams Foundation provided $50,000 towards the renovation, with some of the funds contributing to the addition of Parks Playground Associates at the site. The remaining project funding came from a Parks requirements contract.

The Courts of Dreams Foundation is an organization whose mission is to restore and maintain outdoor basketball courts for children in NYC neighborhoods and around the world fostering healthy, safe, communities while promoting the values of basketball such as team work, mutual respect and leadership. In 2009, Parks partnered with the Courts of Dreams Foundation to improve the basketball courts at Sedgwick Playground in the Bronx.

Originally posted on nycgovparks.org.

John Starks Joins Parks To Celebrate Improvements To Sedgwick Playground

On July 8, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined former New York Knicks player John Starks, Courts of Dreams Foundation Chairman Natasha Cornstein, Department of Environmental Protection Assistant Director of Community Partnerships Effie Ardizzone, Council Member Helen Foster, Assembly Member Vanessa Gibson, Deputy Borough President Aurelia Greene, and kids from the Sedgwick Community and Hunts Point Recreation Centers to the celebrate improvements to Sedgwick Playground and participate in a basketball clinic run by the New York Knicks.

“Thanks to $1.7 million in DEP Croton Mitigation Funds, Sedgwick Playground has been transformed into a recreational oasis,” said Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “New handball courts, playground equipment, swings, and a spray shower will give kids in the community even more opportunities to play outside and stay fit this summer. After today’s clinic with the New York Knicks, kids can continue to practice their basketball skills at Sedgwick Playground thanks to the renovated courts rebuilt by the Courts of Dreams Foundation.”

The $1.7 million project was financed with money from the Croton Water Filtration Plant Mitigation Fund, and by a generous donation from the Courts of Dreams Foundation. The project includes refinished basketball and handball courts, new playground equipment, swings, a spray shower, plantings, fencing, and erosion control.

The Courts of Dreams Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to restore and maintain outdoor basketball courts for children in NYC neighborhoods fostering healthy, safe communities while promoting the values of basketball such as teamwork, mutual respect and leadership.

Originally posted on nycgovparks.org.

“We are so delighted to work with Commissioner Benepe and the Department of Parks & Recreation to help create access to safe, beautiful basketball courts for all New Yorkers. This is a fabulous celebration of our partnership and we hope this will be the first of many collaborations,” said Natasha Cornstein, Chairman, Courts of Dreams Foundation.

The project is part of a $220 million investment in Bronx Parks funded by mitigation funds from the construction of the Croton Water Filtration Plant through the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Municipal Water Finance Authority.

Croton-funded projects fall into five categories and include improving neighborhood parks, renovating regional recreation facilities, developing the Bronx Greenway, improving and expanding access to the Bronx waterfront, and “greening” the borough. To date, Parks has completed 31 projects representing $64 million. Twenty-one projects representing $60 million are currently under construction and an additional 23 projects representing $74 million are in design.