Students at JHS 62 Ditmas in Kensington have a brand-new place to play soccer after a mini-pitch officially opened at the Brooklyn middle school on August 18. The turf field replaces underused schoolyard space at the Title I school, giving more than 800 students a dedicated athletic venue right on campus.
The project came together through a coalition that included New York City FC, the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, Etihad Airways, Judi Health, and the NYC Department of Education, according to Patch. As News12 New York reported, the new field is part of a much larger plan reshaping athletic access for students across the borough.
That larger plan is the New York City Soccer Initiative's “26 for 26” campaign, which is building 26 new mini-pitches across all five boroughs to celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2026, per the same Patch report. Ten of those 26 planned legacy pitches are opening across the city this year alone, and the JHS 62 Ditmas field is one of them.
A Decade-Long Push Reaches Its Next Phase
The New York City Soccer Initiative launched in 2016 as a $3 million public-private partnership and hit its original target of 50 mini-pitches by 2021, according to Forbes. Once the “26 for 26” campaign wraps, the initiative will have built more than 80 mini-pitches citywide, turning what Forbes describes as unused concrete slabs into the nation's largest urban community soccer network.
Other sites opening under the current phase include PS 5 Ellen Lurie in Manhattan, Lafayette Middle School in Brooklyn, and PS 211 in Queens, with seven more planned across the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, the Patch report notes. Site selection isn't random — mini-pitches are chosen based on neighborhood equity criteria tied to municipal programs including the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, the Building Healthy Communities Initiative, and the Parks Department's Community Parks Initiative, according to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.
What the Field Means for Kensington Students
JHS 62 Ditmas sits at 700 Cortelyou Road in Kensington, a Title I public middle school whose more than 800 students come from roughly 40 countries, according to InsideSchools. That diversity mirrors Kensington itself, one of Brooklyn's most culturally mixed working-class neighborhoods.
Principal Marielena Santiago said the new facility will help students build friendships, learn teamwork and leadership skills, and stay active outside the classroom, per a statement carried by both Patch and New York City FC. The school already hosts free community youth programming, including the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development's COMPASS Middle School program, which uses the site for after-school recreational activities.
A Neighborhood Field Amid a Bigger League Play
The Kensington pitch is a small piece of a much bigger NYCFC footprint in the city. The club is separately building Etihad Park, a $780 million, 25,000-seat, all-electric soccer stadium in Willets Point, Queens, slated to open in 2027, as Hoodline detailed in its Etihad Park coverage. The pairing of a nine-figure stadium project with neighborhood-level turf fields reflects how professional soccer clubs are increasingly investing at both ends of the athletic-access spectrum.
Kensington's new pitch also fits into a national pattern tied to next year's tournament. World Cup host cities across North America, including Dallas and the New York/New Jersey region, are using host-committee legacy programs to build permanent neighborhood mini-pitches ahead of the 2026 tournament, a trend Hoodline previously covered when Dallas opened its own field at Pleasant Oaks Recreation Center earlier this month. Organizers say the goal is to leave behind lasting community athletic spaces long after the matches are over.
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