BROOKLYN, NY, April 10, 2014: Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams teamed up with youth baseball and softball league coaches, commissioners and athletic directors at his first meet and greet aimed at organizing youth sports in the borough. At the breakfast held in the community room of Brooklyn Borough Hall, he discussed his plans to use organized youth sports as a vehicle for combating the obesity crisis in Brooklyn, a top priority for his administration, as well as to address issues surrounding field maintenance, declining registration figures and participant diversity.
“If our children have a basketball or baseball bat in their hand, they are not engaged in some form of hate crime, they are not doing something that is neurotic where police officers die because they were bored,” said Borough President Adams. “Coaches in many cases are the most important role models in the lives of many children, and the life skills you can teach them will last a life time. We cannot forget that we are all part of one team, team Brooklyn.”
Borough President Adams unveiled an interactive map of all the baseball and softball fields in Brooklyn, where he has asked coaches, commissioners and athletic directors to provide feedback on field conditions and concerns. He will use the data collected from this survey to prioritize locations that may need volunteer support, greater attention from the Department of Parks and Recreation and/or capital funding.
Others in attendance, who also partnered on this event, included Brooklyn Borough Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey, Brooklyn Cyclones Vice President Steve Cohen and Modell’s Community Ambassador JC Albano.
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