Slope Armory Should be Ready for Action by '09

The formal agreement between the city and the YMCA that’ll result in the Y running programs at the Park Slope Armory for five years has almost been reached, according to Sean Andrews, executive director of the Prospect Park Y. The new $16 million, 600-seat athletic center will primarily be used for track-and-field events, though a portion of it will be set aside for other sports, like soccer and basketball. “We’re very excited about the possibility of getting in there sometime later in the summer,” says Andrews. “The plan is to run activities between the time we get in there and the end of the year, and to start to build a core of programs with a full slate of activities to start by early 2009.” The Y is unlikely to start overseeing the center completely before ’09 because it needs to hire staff and move into offices that still need to be built below the women’s homeless shelter on the 8th avenue side of the building, according to Tom Miskel, the former president of the Park Slope Civic Council who heads up the advisory board on the facility. The city’s Department of Homeless Services is responsible for building the office component, and the center’s opening hinges on “how fast they can complete them,” says Miskel.
Slope Armory Athletic Center Comes Out to Play [Brownstoner]
Park Slope Armory Lookin’ Hot to Trot [Brownstoner]
Last Lap for Park Slope Armory Renovation [Brownstoner]
Photo by gmpicket.