The New York Yankees are not the only ones getting a new ball field in the Bronx.
As part of the Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project, a plan to bring new jobs, alternate transportation opportunities and new parkland to the south Bronx, the New York City Parks Department cut the ribbon on a new $3 million ball field at the West Bronx Recreation Center in Highbridge.
Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Councilwoman Helen Diane Foster, Community Board 4 district manager Jose Rodriguez and children from the West Bronx Recreation Center Summer Camp on Friday, August 22, to welcome in the new permanent, multi-use synthetic turf ball field.
“The new, permanent ball field on the footprint of a former empty lot at the West Bronx Recreation Center is a home run for the Highbridge community,” said Benepe.
Less than a year ago, in November, Benepe and Foster had joined students from C.S. 199 and the nearby Seventh Day Adventist School to break ground on the 2.37 acre empty dirt lot that now includes a field designed for soccer, softball and little league baseball.
The field also features new bleachers, a water fountain, a misting station, trees, shrubs, walkways, fencing, storage and a roadway turnaround.
“The opening of the West Bronx Recreation Center Ball Field on a formerly abandoned street and underutilized lots shows our ongoing commitment to the development of open space and infrastructure improvements in the Bronx,” said Seth W. Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
“This project is another successfully completed part of the improvements undertaken in conjunction with the development of the new Yankee Stadium – a project that will pay dividends to the neighborhood, the Bronx and the City for many years to come,” he added.
As part of the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, the City had planned to build two temporary ball fields along the Harlem River, until the new Heritage Field could be built.
At the community’s request, the City has built two permanent ball fields, instead. The permanent ball fields are a bonus for the community and will help alleviate temporary inconveniences as parkland is redeveloped in association with the construction of the new stadium.
“This is a great example of how the City can convert underutilized space into a place for active recreation,” said Benepe. “The recreation center now hosts a new, permanent playing field in an area that was previously not usable by the public and which will now provide neighborhood kids more opportunities for sports and fitness.”
