What it is:

A growing residential downtown needs a real recreation center. Battery to Bridges supports exploring a Seaport Piers Recreation Center that could provide year-round public recreation, youth and senior programming, waterfront education, and community space near the East River.

An indoor recreation center with its eastern wall fortified to coastal resiliency standards would be a win-win and provides early community buy-in.

The idea is not new. CB1 has already endorsed the need for a recreation center. The moment to integrate it is now.

Why it matters:

As more people live downtown, the neighborhood needs indoor and outdoor recreation space for children, teens, families, seniors, and working adults. This initiative would help create badly needed indoor recreation and multipurpose spaces east of Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

The current resiliency project is still early enough to shape public benefits - waterfront design is moving through long-term planning and approval stages. If we can build on the prior FIDI FORGE coastal resiliency plan before design choices are locked in, we can pair flood protection with public access, maritime programming, and active recreation to create a protected shoreline that also delivers recreational equity. 

Who it serves:  

Local families, seniors, youth, public housing residents, renters, co-op and condo residents, workers, and visitors.

What it could include:

• Indoor play, youth sports, practice fields, and sports leagues.

• High-ceiling gymnasium and practice space.

• Meeting, craft and education rooms.

• All-season recreation for children, adults, and seniors alike.

• Public dock and in-water activities with maritime access for historic ships and small craft.

• Landscaped rooftop for badly needed public open space.

  
  

BtoBC position:

BtoBC proposes turning resilient waterfront infrastructure into an indoor public recreation center with active, maritime and educational uses.

We advocate for serious public study and community input which in turn will create public benefit. We also advocate for asking NYC/EDC to evaluate the recreation center as a formal resiliency option.

How residents can help:

Sign up, attend meetings, share recreation needs, and support advocacy.