Three basketball courts at Fish Playground in Brooklyn have a brand-new look, repaved in gray, black and seafoam green with fresh backboards, nets, benches and a water fountain. The completed renovations were announced Monday as part of a larger $2.89 million push to upgrade 13 basketball courts across five Brooklyn parks.
The project brought new playing surfaces and backboards with nets to the playground's three courts, according to silive.com, which also reported that the renovation added new benches and a water fountain and refurbished the park's chain-link fence with new mesh. The outlet notes that Fish Playground, which opened in 1965, is jointly operated by NYC Parks and the city Department of Education.
The court sites were chosen in collaboration with NYC Parks as part of a racial justice initiative, as reported by BKReader. That outlet described the overall effort as a $2.89 million initiative covering 13 total courts across five parks in the borough.
Funding Through Adopt-a-Park
The project will be funded through New York City's Adopt-a-Park program. BKReader described it as the city's program, while silive.com attributed the detail to NYC Parks' Adopt-A-Park program, according to a release. Both outlets agree on the broader $2.89 million figure tied to the five-park effort.
The same renovation wave touched other Brooklyn parks. Per the station's report, the Social Justice Fund has also sponsored basketball court renovations at Jackie Robinson Playground in Crown Heights, Breukelen Ballfields in East New York, Fox Playground in Flatlands and Sunset Park.
Jackie Robinson Playground Saw a Similar Overhaul
Jackie Robinson Playground previously received its own full-court transformation through a separate $2.1 million initiative from the Social Justice Fund, in partnership with NYC Parks, according to News 12 Brooklyn. That renovation included brand-new backboards, nets, benches and even a water bottle filler, the station reported, and featured professional coaches with the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty running basketball clinics and skill-building sessions with local students.
The Social Justice Fund's investment pattern in Brooklyn parks isn't new. Back in October 2023, NYC Parks described a $1.4 million partnership investment to upgrade courts in neighborhoods with acute levels of gun violence, also framed as part of the fund's racial justice initiative.
The New York Post, which also reported on the Fish Playground unveiling, described additional details about the Nov. 2 event, including remarks from Social Justice Fund executive director Gregg Bishop. According to the New York Post, Bishop said the fund hopes to set an example for further investment and that young people will remember the community's investment in them.
