By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Tucked behind low-slung factories on the Brooklyn side of the Battery Tunnel, the Red Hook Recreation Center is used 12 hours a day by bus drivers, factory workers, and tollbooth clerks who see a bargain in the city gym’s $50 annual membership.

For generations of neighborhood children, the Center has been a sanctuary from notorious streets and tough housing projects. But the NYC Parks and Recreation Dept. facility is anything but a safe haven: Its roof and walls are crumbling from decades of neglect.

The building houses citywide champion basketball, soccer and
football teams, after-school programs and a computer center. It serves as the headquarters for District 6 Parks workers. And it’s also a dilapidated haven for rats, stray cats and other vermin.

“To curtail the rat infestation, someone brought in cats. The rats ate the cat food and thrived. The cats also multiplied; they brought fleas, and the rat problem is still here,” said Local 1505 President Michael Hood, whose members work in the building.

Toxic mold
DC 37 ’s Safety and Health Unit inspected the Brooklyn building and found rats and vermin in the basement. Clogged floor drains leave pools of standing water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes that can carry the deadly West Nile virus, the union’s report said. Toxic mold grows along its crumbling walls.

Workers said the roof has not been replaced since the center was first built in 1936. Damage worsens as water seeps under the roof flashing and runs into the walls, weakening the brick and cinderblock structure. Ceiling tiles are stained brown with water damage a month after they were installed.

Although a February visit from the Parks commissioner generated talk of a capital improvement project slated for March, by May the work had not started. Management is dragging its feet regarding any further repairs. And the Parks Dept. has not conducted a health survey on the decaying building.

“I’m worried about the children and staff who are exposed to mold and possibly lead paint here every day,” said Willis Phifer, a City Parks Worker who filed a grievance protesting the recreation center’s decaying condition.

“Floors wet due to leakage” signs are posted on pillars throughout the weight room that doubles as the men’s locker room. Children play in rooms with peeling paint, which bubbles from the water-damaged walls every time it rains or snows. The maintenance crews put out buckets. Plaster stalactites hang from the ceiling and fall in chunks to the floor.

“Paint falls all day long,” said Recreation Director Irvin Dwain of Local 299. “This could be the best facility in the city.” But it isn’t, and as New York faces its worst economic crisis in 30 years, it’s unlikely that anything will get done soon. In the meantime, thestaff holds onto hope and works to instill pride in the hearts of children for whom the Red Hook center is a refuge. A hand-stitched quilt and championship banners hung high in the lobby do little to hide the neglect apparent on every wall below.

“This facility is the only safe place children in this community have,” said President Hood, standing in the basement in 3 inches of water. “Our members try hard to make the Red Hook center a clean, safe environment. The city should do its part to make the structure sound.”