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Co-op City Times / February 27, 2016
2nd Combing Co-op City Find out what’s going on in Co-op City here...
NCNW Black History Month Celebration today
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc., Co-op City Section, and the Riverbay Fund are co-sponsoring the 15th Annual Youth celebration of Black History Month today, Saturday, February 27, 1-4 p.m., in Auditorium B of the Dreiser Community Center. This will be an afternoon of singing, dancing, stepping, poetry, Spoken Word, storytelling and much more. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. Youth groups interested in showcasing their talent at this celebration, or for more information, please call (917) 399-2643 or (917) 826-5644. Save the date and plan to attend, Saturday, February 27.
Next CB #10 meeting, March 17th
The next Community Board 10 meeting will be held on Thursday, March 17, 7:30 p.m. at P.S. 175, 200 City Island Avenue, NY 10464. For more information, please call Community Board 10 at (718) 8921161.
Annual Co-op City Spelling Bee
The annual Co-op City Spelling Bee, sponsored by the African American Association of Co-op City with support from the Riverbay Fund, will be held on Saturday, March 19, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Room 31 of the Bartow Center. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
AARP Tax Aide at JASA
JASA/Co-op City Senior Services is offering FREE tax preparation and free e-File until April 13, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 135 Einstein Loop, Room 35. For further information, please contact the JASA Senior Services office at (718) 320-2066.
FRONT PA G E
A movement to revive Little League baseball in Co-op City BY BILL STUTTIG The Co-op City Little League (CCLL) is a proud and historic institution in this community, almost as old as Co-op City itself. Founded in 1969, before most of the community’s buildings were even occupied, it was the community’s first youth organization and for nearly a half-a-century now, it has continued to be one of its most important, introducing thousands of children over the decades to the concepts of team sports, development of athletic skills and meaningful social interaction with both peers and elders. But like many little league programs throughout the nation – particularly in urban areas – interest in little league baseball has waned among today’s youth, replaced by other pastimes, such as video games and other sports like soccer, which are prominent in cultures that are becoming more prevalent in society as a whole. Hector Ayala, the current and longtime president of the Co-op City Little League and a parent volunteer with the program since1982, knows that much of the decline in interest in youth baseball is beyond his or anybody else’s control, but at the same time, he feels that the league fills an essential function in the community. “The league brings the community together,” said Ayala. “It gives parents the opportunity to get involved with their children, and in the end, that can be nothing but good for the kids. It allows families to come together and rally around the game of baseball which, in my opinion, is much more important than the game itself.” The league was founded by Irwin Address and Bernard Gittelson, and with the help of other pioneers, specifically Everod “Papa” Jefferson, the recently passed Bruce Laskey and Irwin Toplitsky, it began to thrive during the ’70s just as Co-op City was beginning to grow into the community that it is today. Most of those early games were not even played in Co-op City – some being played in nearby Pelham Bay Park and others on a makeshift field on the north Greenway. In 1979, Riverbay deeded land to the NYC Parks Department for the specific purpose of developing two little league fields adjacent to the Hutchinson River fields. In recent years, elected officials, including former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, former State Assemblyman Steve Kaufman, and current State Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, helped publicly finance many new amenities for the program, including bleachers, a concession stand, a score board, lights and a picnic area. Current
A former Co-op City Little League Pillar Team with their trophies
Councilman Andy King is now financing new dugouts and an irrigation system for the fields. And the upgrades have brought recent successes to the league in recent years, including a Senior Division District 22 Championship Team in 201l that made it all the way to the east regional championship game played at the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones that summer. But over the course of more recent summers, Mr. Ayala said registration has dropped off by 25% and this season’s prospects do not seem any better despite the best efforts of league officials, which include offering free indoor baseball clinics at 4 p.m. each Saturday afternoon through March 5th at the MS 144 gymnasium, 2562 Gunther Avenue.
Stan Jefferson’s MLB card
Stan Jefferson, the only CCLL alumni to reach the major leagues, playing nearly six seasons in the majors including stints with both the Mets and the Yankees, said this week that in past decades, as well as today, family budgets are tight and paying for three children in a family to play little league baseball might be a hardship. “I know when my father and others like him, including Bruce Laskey, would come across this situation, they
would help out by paying one of the fees,” said Stanley. “This not only goes for baseball, but all sports. That is one of the complaints that we have heard over the years, that Co-op City has stopped investing in the children whether it be basketball, football, baseball or another activity. “Co-op City is in a unique position in that we have all the free space and facilities already here, but we have to do more to provide leadership to encourage use of these facilities and part of that is to have all the youth sports organization work closely together to support one another.” Mr. Jefferson also suggested taking a very small percentage of the monthly carrying charges and putting that money towards support for sports and youth activities. Someone who is in complete agreement with Mr. Jefferson is Ronald Hartridge, a standout collegiate athlete himself during his youth who, like Mr. Jefferson, began honing his athletic skills by participating in the Co-op City Little League several decades ago. Mr. Hartridge now heads the North Bronx Recreational Development Group, a consortium of youth groups serving Coop City and the north Bronx in general. He said this week that he believes progress is being made in getting the community, specifically Riverbay management and the Board, to have more involvement in the youth programs that already exist within the community. “I believe that with this new management and with the new Board, we are seeing a new day in which they want to and are becoming involved in helping the youth and sports programs here,” said Hartridge. “We are already in discussions with them for making some improvements with Co-op City which will benefit the sports program, including moving the new community baseball diamond in Section 5 to make it more user-friendly for the youth and to use the Greenway for the establishment of a new soccer field.” (Continued on page 9)