City opens Studio Gang-designed Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Flatbush

All photos © Alexander Severin unless otherwise noted
Brooklyn’s largest recreation center officially opened its doors in East Flatbush this week. Located within Nostrand Playground, the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center measures 74,000 square feet and includes an indoor pool, basketball court, full gym, a media lab, outdoor spaces, and more. Designed by Studio Gang, the firm behind the Gilder Center at the Museum of Natural History and Brooklyn residential tower 11 Hoyt, the building features large arched windows, a curving brick facade, and a green roof.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio first announced plans for the new $141 million facility in 2020 and construction began in 2023. The rec center is named after Shirley Chisholm, a Brooklyn-born activist and politician who became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress.
According to the city, the new center is the first of its kind in Central Brooklyn and the first built citywide in the last 15 years. Roughly 41,000 people live a 15-minute walk or transit ride from the facility.
Like all city recreation centers, Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center memberships are low-cost for all New Yorkers and remain free for anyone under the age of 24.

During a press conference on Monday celebrating the opening, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the facility honors Chisholm’s legacy.
“The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center will be a true hub of community, and it will serve as an example of what’s possible in New York City. And like its namesake, this center is a trailblazer, opening the door to a new era,” Mamdani said.
“After years of stagnation, this is the first of six new recreation centers currently under development by New York City Parks. And it serves as a model for a new kind of build, a commitment to public excellence.”


The recreation center spans three stories plus a cellar. On the lower level, there’s a double-height NCAA-sized basketball court. The first level includes a competition-grade six-lane pool and a mezzanine walking track. A well-equipped gym with a cardio room, strength room, dance studio, spin/stretch room, and locker rooms is on the second level.
On the third floor, there are 13,000 square feet of terraces and gardens, as well as rooms for community and education programs, a teaching kitchen, a teen room, and the Dr. Roy Hastick Media Lab, named for the community activist and Caribbean-American business leader. There’s also an 8,500-square-foot green roof.
As the architects note, the “openings between floors maximize visual and physical connections between programs, establishing a vibrant and airy atmosphere that welcomes everyone.”

The rec center was constructed as part of the city’s “Design-Build” initiative, which speeds up public projects by making a single entity responsible for both design and construction. Other centers in the works under Design-Build include the Roy Wilkins Recreation Center in Queens and the Mary Cali Dalton Recreation Center on Staten Island.
“Using design-build contracting, DDC was able to complete the Center three years faster than would have been possible with traditional lowest bidder contracting,” NYC Department of Design and Construction Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle said.
“We are proving that construction reform is possible and that design-build is fast and effective. Right now, we’re working, via design-build, on three new recreation centers in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens that will all see similar time savings.”
The rec center is fully open to the public as of Tuesday, February 10. During the first week, New Yorkers can try out the center for free for one day before becoming members. Guided tours and demonstrations will be available.
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Photos courtesy of Alexander Severin unless otherwise noted



