Conditions at Canarsie Park basketball court continue to suffer

"

According to Ramel Young, who runs the Canarsie Flossy Basketball League, every time the sprinkler at Canarsie Park is turned on, the basketball court floods. Young says the issue has been happening since at least 2018, even though he has called 311 and written emails to the Parks Department and his local Congress people. In 2022, it looked like it paid off. He told News 12 that the New York City Council was able to get $1 million set aside to dig up the court and fix an old pipe. But two years later, and the city website says the project is still at least a year away from being completed. Young said he was tired of waiting, so he posted a video to his Instagram two weeks ago showing the condition of the court, and asking where the money was. With over 10,000 views, Young says people showed up from the city quickly to start fixing the blacktop, but not fixing the real issue, instead, only doing what he calls "cosmetics." To make matters worse, last Thursday, the sprinkler was turned back on, and the court flooded again. According to Young, the workers "just stopped" what they had been doing, leaving a corner of the court unpainted, and the entire thing without any half0court, three-point or free-throw lines. Young said he did what he could, putting the lines down himself with tape, but already some of it is peeling, and it clearly is not regulation. With the court in its current shape, Young says it's becoming harder and harder for him to host his youth basketball league, which is usually there almost every day. "I do this tournament, the Canarsie Flossy Tournament, to keep kids out of trouble, so they have something to do on the weekends, Young said. " The facilities is not up to par. Now what are they doing?" Until it gets fixed, Young says he plans to keep taking care of things himself as much as possible, trying to keep the court a place where kids can still come. The City Parks Department tells News 12 that the plans for the project have been finalized, the money has been allocated and they are currently preparing to begin construction. City Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse also tells News 12 she shares the community's disappointment and is concerned about the timeline as well. "