Mayor Bloomberg and City Parks Foundation Open CityParks Junior Golf Center

First-in-the-Nation: Free, Comprehensive, & Exclusively for Youth

NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Parks
Foundation today opened the CityParks Junior Golf Center, a state-of-the-art
facility -- the first of its kind in the nation -- that is free of cost, and
open only to juniors ages 6 to 17. Instruction at the $8 million Center is
available for beginners and advanced golfers alike. Adjacent to the City's
Dyker Beach Golf Course, the facility will serve thousands of junior golfers
each year. It has a six-hole golf course, a 9,875 square foot practice putting
green, a 9,075 square foot chipping green, a 8,100 square foot sand trap, a
nine-station covered driving range, a 4,275 square foot Clubhouse Learning
Center with classroom space, and full-time professional instructors.
"This facility will introduce so many children -- who otherwise wouldn't
have had the chance -- to all the benefits of the game, including
sportsmanship, self-discipline, and enjoying the outdoors," said Mayor
Bloomberg. "The City Parks Foundation is an impressive organization that
provides recreational, educational and arts programs to people young and old
in parks across the City, which will now include golf instruction for youth at
this top-flight facility."
"Not many people think of New York City as a golfer's paradise, but with
13 public golf courses, opportunities for play are boundless," said Parks &
Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Now, thanks to our partners, the City
Parks Foundation, we can offer our children a facility designed exclusively
for them. The Junior Golf Center at Dyker Beach Park will encourage new
generations to discover a game that can lead to lifelong fitness and health.
Today's opening is a real 'hole in one' for our City's kids."
"The CityParks Junior Golf Center will be the cornerstone of our CityParks
Golf program, which begins teaching kids about golf in neighborhood parks
across the city," said City Parks Foundation Executive Director David Rivel.
"The CityParks Junior Golf Center will give New York City's kids a chance to
develop into advanced golfers, with the potential to earn college
scholarships, while also enjoying the outdoors, learning sportsmanship, and
developing skills that translate for life off the course."
The CityParks Junior Golf Center will offer free, challenging programs to
develop well-rounded players who can play for the rest of their lives. All
participants will become automatic members of the center, enjoying benefits
including free use of the facility and equipment, and invitations to special
events. Detailed program information, updates about the Center, and
registration instructions are available at www.CityParksFoundation.org or by
calling (718) 259-2999.
City Parks Foundation has offered CityParks Golf since 1999, now serving
over 1,800 youth each year. The program serves beginners, intermediate, and
advanced players in parks across all five boroughs with equipment provided
free of charge. By offering instruction in neighborhood parks, City Parks
Foundation has been able to introduce thousands of urban kids to the game of
golf.
Construction on the $8 million Junior Golf Center began in November 2006.
The project is being funded through a combination of public and private funds,
with $2 million allocated by the City, $400,000 by the New York State Senate
through the efforts of State Senator Martin Golden, and the remaining funds
raised by City Parks Foundation from private sources. Of the $8 million
total, approximately half is needed to construct the center, and the rest will
establish a permanent operating endowment to support annual programming,
operations, and course maintenance. Callaway and Top Flite are the official
equipment sponsors of the CityParks Junior Golf Center. The Center is also
supported by the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Foundation; Andrew & Ann Tisch; the
USGA; and ConEdison.
The Mayor was joined at the announcement by Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz, State Senator Martin Golden, City Council members Vincent
Gentile and Domenic Recchia, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and
David Rivel, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, the private,
non-profit organization that built the Center and will manage and program the
facility. Also participating in the opening were youth golfers from the
CityParks Golf program and students from PS 229.
SOURCE City Parks Foundation

Stu Loeser or Jason Post, +1-212-788-2958, for City Parks Foundation; Jama
Adams (Parks), +1-212-360-1311; or Philip Craft (City Parks Foundation),
+1-212-360-8162