BROOKLYN (March 27, 2013) – Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark unveiled an extensively renovated Brooklyn Nets themed gymnasium today that he funded for the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club’s Navy Yard Clubhouse in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The dedication ceremony held at the Navy Yard Clubhouse was attended by Yormark, Executive Director of the Madison Boys & Girls Club Joseph Patuleia, Madison Square Boys & Girls Club Board of Trustees member Barry Bregman, Unit Director of the Navy Yard Clubhouse Shawonda Swain, the Brooklynettes, Nets Super Hero BrooklyKnight, and 100 kids who belong to the Navy Yard Clubhouse. This marks the first key project presented by the Yormark Family Foundation.
Located only a few subway stops from Barclays Center, the renovated gym features a new basketball court that emulates the Brooklyn Nets practice court at the arena, including the team’s black and white color scheme and logos. Other new elements to the gym include wall padding with Nets logos, custom bleachers, and a scoreboard. The gym was also painted black and white.
The new gym will be used by the kids of the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club for various activities including basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, kickball, wiffleball, dance, and warm-up exercises.
“Basketball has always been a big part of my life, so I’m delighted to dedicate this beautiful new gym to the kids of the Navy Yard Clubhouse at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club,” said Yormark. “It’s particularly meaningful to me to reinvest in the young people of Brooklyn and provide them with a positive environment. I hope that when they see the ‘B’ in the Brooklyn Nets logo on the court, they will be inspired to play hard and be a great teammate, as our players do every night.”
“Madison Square Boys & Girls Club is honored to have been chosen as a community partner of the Yormark Family Foundation, with additional support by the Brooklyn Nets, and is extremely grateful for their tremendous efforts to restore the gymnasium at our Navy Yard Clubhouse,” said Joseph Patuleia, Executive Director. “The renovations will prove instrumental in empowering the community’s most at-risk youth to live a healthy lifestyle through commitment to physical fitness and will encourage teamwork and cooperative learning through activities that will now occur in our state-of-the-art gymnasium. We look forward to a lasting relationship with Brett Yormark and the Brooklyn Nets.”