If you build it, will they come?
A coalition of activists, politicians and residents in Canarsie, Brooklyn, are pushing for a new community center to help keep young people busy and out of trouble, even as the city has allocated $500,000 toward a study on the project’s feasibility. They say the funding is welcome after years of community organizing, but much more is needed to build the center and provide programming for the neighborhood’s youth — many of whom have been affected by gun violence and other dangers.
“It’s a first step,” said Jibreel Jalloh, founder of the Flossy Organization, which advocates on behalf of marginalized communities in the city. “We wanted the money outright because we know construction takes some time, bidding [out contracts] takes some time, and we just don't have that time to spare.”
Jalloh and other community members say Canarsie has lacked the kinds of social services and infrastructure that research shows can reduce violence, boost economic opportunity and forge ties among residents. The neighborhood on Brooklyn's southeast edge is home to a large Caribbean population and known for its historic park and fishing pier on Jamaica Bay, where Jalloh is campaigning for a city ferry stop to be added.
Residents say a flurry of shootings in Canarsie during the pandemic only underscored the need for a community center with activities for young people. Natasha Christopher, who works at the local outpost of antiviolence nonprofit Enough Initiative, said such a facility would give teens a place to hang out and access supports like tutoring and counseling. Her son was gunned down in Bushwick in 2012 when he was 14.
“ They wanna be able to go to the basketball court, play basketball and know that they're safe,” Christopher said. “They wanna be able to, you know, just play video games.”
In an open letter in June, Jalloh called for Mayor Eric Adams’ administration to commit to building a community center in the heart of Canarsie, pointing to multimillion-dollar facilities slated for neighboring Brownsville and East Flatbush. He sent another letter in July, asking City Hall to release a timeline for the feasibility study by Aug. 1. Jalloh said he hasn’t received a response, adding that he worries the study funding, which was included in the city’s budget this summer, could end up as “another bureaucratic delay tactic.”
“ A few days after the budget passed, there was another shooting in our community. And leading up to that, there were two shootings,” Jalloh said. “We know there’s only a matter of time before violence strikes again.”
One of the murals of late local rapper Pop Smoke in Canarsie
A spokesperson for Adams' office said the mayor is dedicated to investing in accessible community spaces for all New Yorkers, but did not provide a timeline for the Canarsie project. As Adams seeks re-election this November, his administration has cited a citywide decline in shootings in arguing the city is becoming safer. That includes a 42% drop in shootings since last year in the NYPD precinct covering Canarsie, according to police data through Sept. 7. Four people, among them three teens, were fatally shot in the precinct in 2024, and two men have been shot and killed there so far this year.
City Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse, who represents Canarsie and has championed a new community center there, said the feasibility study likely won’t cost the entire $500,000 budgeted, so the money is effectively a "deposit" toward the facility. She pledged to keep up the effort, noting the vast majority of her constituents she’s spoken with have expressed a desire for a free and accessible community hub — including young people.
“ They are starving for arts, tutoring, financial literacy. Some even talk to me about wellness, mental health counseling, cultural events,” Narcisse said. “They want a place where it can be theirs.”
Residents echoed those comments in recent interviews around East 80th Street and Flatlands Avenue, a bustling commercial strip filled with West Indian restaurants serving up jerk chicken and roti. A large mural of Pop Smoke, an up-and-coming Canarsie rapper who was fatally shot in Los Angeles in 2020, watches over the intersection.
“ Kids get into trouble when they get to be alone, unsupervised,” Kariem Griffith said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
