By John Burton
RED BANK – The kids at the Montgomery Terrace public housing complex and surrounding neighborhood will again have a chance to show they got game and even sharpen their skills.
The long unused and unavailable basketball court at Montgomery Terrace apartments, Tilton Avenue, on the borough’s west side, has been given a second chance. The court has been used for the last couple of weekends, and will be again used on Saturday, July 26, as the site of a recently formed program, conducted by the Community YMCA.
Thanks to the efforts of Red Bank Borough Councilwoman Cindy Burnham and Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education President John Garofalo, the court has been refurbished.
Burnham said she had taken it upon herself to purchase backboards, hoops and nets for the site, at a cost of $1,800, and installed them herself with some assistance. Garofalo, whose company paints street and traffic lines, offered his support by striping the court, Burnham said.
The Red Bank Housing Authority, which had oversees the Montgomery Terrace complex, took down the nets and backboards a few years ago after a couple of violent incidents occurred at the court, according to Burnham. She said it was important to give youth living there a recreational opportunity. She approached the borough council about reinstating the basketball court but they deferred to the housing authority. When she approached the authority, “They were like, go for it,” Burnham said.
Christopher Pugliese, chief of staff for the Long Branch Housing Authority, said “community partnerships such as this are always welcomed and beneficial for the community.” Pugliese, however, could not speak as to why the hoops were taken down.
The Long Branch Housing Authority has been managing the Red Bank public housing sites since January in a shared service agreement, he said.
Community activist David Prown joined Burnham’s effort, making basketballs available for kids to use at the court.
Prown, who heads the Future Bucs program that encourages borough kids to play organized sports, also approached Community YMCA representatives who were interested in establishing a short-term program there.
The courts present “a nice little venue for the neighborhood” for a modest recreational program, Prown said.
The Y conducted its Skills and Drills program there on Saturday, July 12 and July 19, and will again on July 26. The program, divided into groups for youngsters ages 7-10 and 11-13, has instructors available offering lessons and drills on playing basketball. The program costs $5 per person. Participants get a T-shirt and a basketball plus instruction for the fee.
Prown has been working to spread the word in the community about the program. Getting the Y on board was a major step in reaching out to marginalized community members. “It was just the overture that is so incredible,” Prown said. “It kind of says we care.”
“For our part, it’s about having a presence in the community where we didn’t necessarily have one,” said Rhonda Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the Community YMCA.
The program attracted more than 20 kids for the first date and more than 30 on the second, Burnham said. It has been successful enough that the Y would like to continue a similar program for the start of the school year, according to Linda Ambis, the Y’s vice president of family health and wellness.
