Nearly 100 residents and community activists today cheered, protested and pleaded to renovate the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, which the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation hopes to demolish while building new one nearby.
Bradishing signs saying “Save the Dapolito Rec Center” and “Make These Repairs” and chanting “No more demo,” they made their case to “save” the now closed Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, at Clarkson and Varick Street.
“They call the demolition plan revitalization. We call it erasure,” said Mar Fitzgerald, Democratic district leader for the 66th Assembly District, including Greenwich Village, East Village and part of Chelsea. “There are over $100 million on the table. This building is a powerhouse. Its bones are strong. Its walls are filled with our his