Fridays at Lefferts Park Secured for Community Children

By COLlive reporter

This spring and summer, young yeshiva students in Crown Heights will be able to play baseball in Crown Heights’ Hamilton Metz – Lefferts Park all afternoon every Friday.

Crown Heights yeshiva students have been playing baseball, basketball and soccer every Friday afternoon at the local park for decades.

The young boys attend local Yeshivas, which have a rigorous daily schedule beginning early in the day and ending late in the afternoon, and Friday afternoon is one of their only opportunities each week to enjoy outdoor sports and activities. The park also provides a crucial outlet for local public school children who play there on Fridays as well.

This summer, through the advocacy of community activist Yaacov Behrman, director of Operation Survival and Public Safety Chair of Community Board 9, Friday permits will not be given for the park to any leagues or clubs and will be reserved for the local children’s use, Behrman has informed.

Last year, a soccer club based in the nearby neighborhood of Park Slope and which includes members from Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Brownsville, had applied for and received a permit to play on the field every Friday from 4 – 6 PM through the spring and summer.

With the children disappointed about losing their beloved Friday games, and concerned about escalating disputes, Crown Heights Shomrim volunteers brought their plight to the attention of Yaacov Behrman, who was able to assist in working out a schedule with the help of the soccer club.

This year, the park has been secured fully for Fridays as “community time.”

“The Parks Department has reserved all day Friday for the community,” Behrman said. “We thank Jose Luis Jimenez, Deputy Director of Brooklyn Parks Permits & Special Events, for accommodating this request.”

For the rest of the week, Permits for the park have been given to various groups, leagues and clubs for some of the time (see schedule below.)

Behrman says community activists are still advocating with the Parks Department for more community time. They are also discussing with local elected officials the possibility of passing a bill that would mandate a certain percentage of after-school hours be allotted to community time citywide.

“There were several near altercations recently after community children were forced off the soccer court by leagues and soccer clubs,” Behrman said. “This is a cause of concern in our community, because underprivileged local children are less likely to join a league or club and have nowhere to play.”

“In the meantime, speak to your children’s school about reserving the soccer field during the hours of 3pm-6pm,” Behrman advised. “In addition, Anash leagues, clubs and organizations should also be requesting permits and reserving the court for some of these after-school hours.”

Click here to request permits
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Weekday schedule for the soccer court at Hamilton Metz – Lefferts Park according to the Parks Department:

Weekday before 3pm:

The Parks Department has not issued any permits. Open to the public.

Weekday 3-6pm

Those slots are reserved for NYC schools, public, private and charter during school season. Any school can apply and receive a permit. The court is open to the public when it isn’t reserved for a school.

Weekday 6PM-8PM

Leagues, soccer clubs and organizations have the ability to reserve and pull permits. Some of these slots have been reserved and used by the same groups since 2019.