City Council Member Althea Stevens (C.D. 16) joined others on Friday, Oct. 11, to present a check for $25,000 to the nonprofit organization SCAN Harbor, Inc., to fund programming and general renovations at the Rev. T. Wendell Foster Recreation Center located in the Concourse section of The Bronx.

 

Founded in 1977, SCAN-Harbor is a non-profit youth and family service organization that provides a variety of integrated supports to the highest risk children and families of Harlem, East Harlem and the South Bronx, according to its website. The nonprofit runs various programs at the Concourse-based recreation center.

 

Present for the check presentation at the center, located at 1020 Jerome Avenue, were Lewis Zuchman, SCAN Harbor, Inc. executive director; Renee Avery, SCAN Harbor, Inc. deputy executive director; Lisa Jackson, SCAN Harbor, Inc. facility director; Latainya Johnson, SCAN Harbor, Inc. director of development; and students who attend SCAN Harbor, Inc. programming at the center.

 

Addressing those gathered, one of the students of the program said she’d been attending the facility for three to four years. “I started off playing softball with Miss Lisa Jackson here, and I believe that this donation would be such a great addition to this facility because we want to make this a safer place for more kids to come and just enjoy themselves here, like how they come here to play basketball,” she said.

 

She continued, “We also have a young ladies group called ‘Young Women’s Empowerment,'” adding that the funding would not only support that program but also fix certain parts of the building like the lights and the restrooms. “Sometimes, they need a little bit of fixing up, but this donation would definitely play a big part in this building,” she said.

 

Avery later said for many years but especially for the last four, SCAN Harbor, Inc. had been providing services to anyone in need of them at the center, including but not limited to afterschool services, family and children services, and recreation. “No one knows better than Councilmember Stevens how important Rev. T. Wendell Foster Recreation Center is to this community, and it gives us pleasure to recognize that Councilmember Stevens and her staff really support the work that we do, which is very important work, and the relationship that we have is so meaningful,” she said in part, before introducing Zuchman.

 

For his part, Zuchman paid tribute to Rev. T. Wendell Foster, who he said created the center and park. “[He] really was the person who brought SCAN Harbor into this community and it was through his spirit and struggle that we have this wonderful building and park,” Zuchman said. “And from the day Althea Stevens was elected as our city council person, she’s followed Wendell’s spirit and support of us, and when I say us, it’s not us as an agency, but our community.”

Zuchman later told Norwood News, that there were a number of structural problems with the building which was why the funding was especially needed. “As you can see, a lot of lights are out here,” he said. “There’s a hundred different repairs [needed] so, this is going to help us maintain the building.”

 

Zuchman said the programs were subject to both New York City and New York State Department of Health regulations in that regard. “You’ve got layer upon layer of bureaucracy, which is there to protect the children, but can become cumbersome,” he said. “So, this new program we opened, their offices are up on our third floor, and there, it’s parents and their children.”

 

He continued, “So again, there’s no restriction to that and we’re really happy because there they could come into a community center rather than it be in a therapist’s office, and maybe feel like [inaudible] so we’re slowly using the building fully, one hundred percent. There’s a basement. We have a recording studio in the basement, a dance studio. Upstairs, we have offices, so it’s a wonderful building, all built by Rev. Wendell Foster’s funding over 10 years ago.”

 

Asked if the $25,000 was discretionary funding, Stevens, who succeeded Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, as the city council member for District 16 in 2021, said she believed it was but couldn’t recall off the top of her head and referred us to her team for clarification. We have followed up with her team, and will share any updates we receive.

 

Saying it was for roof and other renovations, Stevens added, “But it’s not enough, so I’ll definitely have to continue to fund it as well.” Each year, members of the City Council allocate discretionary funds to not-for-profit organizations in order to meet local needs and fill gaps in City agency services. Restrictions apply.

 

A separate school-based early support (SBES) group which partners with SCAN Harbor to provide school-related programming at the center was unable to attend the check presentation.

 

Zuchman thanked Stevens for the funding and went on to pay tribute to Avery and Jackson for their work at Scan Harbor. “I was telling the council member when I was a young man some 30 odd years ago, this was my favorite place to be, and Lisa has made it my favorite place to be again, so I want to thank our council member,” he said.