[Slideshow: Photographer Adi Talwar chronicles the re-opening of the Williamsbridge Oval Rec Center.]

by David Cruz

To Norwoodians and beyond, Williamsbridge Oval Park is considered “the hidden jewel of the Bronx,” a park so immersed in Norwood, it’s deemed the epicenter of the leafy neighborhood. So when the recreation center temporarily closed in 2010 for repairs, a sense of loss rippled throughout the community. That is until now.

A revitalized Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center finally re-opened to a packed crowd of neighbors, elected officials and park advocates on a frigid Saturday, November 23. The highly anticipated, daylong event drew plenty of families, as DJ Crazy Rob added to the musical soundtrack. The event capped three and a half years of false starts, holdups and plenty of public acrimony toward the city Parks Department tasked to revamp the recreation center.

“The renovations were sorely needed,” said Lisa von Uhl, lead organizer for the Friends of Williamsbridge Oval Park, the grassroots group largely responsible for pressing the Parks Department to complete $5.2 million facelift project.

The granite building, found on the southwestern side of the park near curvy Reservoir Oval, received an inventory of upgrades including a new roof, exterior upgrades to the building’s façade, new windows and boiler. Public restrooms accessible to wheelchair-bound neighbors were also built, found along the opposite ends of the two-story center.

“It’s like Christmas!” said Tancy Rodriguez, a fellow member of the volunteer group. “It’ll make a change to the children in this neighborhood.”

The center closed for repairs in April of 2010, with Parks Department brass originally aiming for a summer of 2011 opening. But the holdups stemmed from construction crews coming up short.

“To have this park closed was a huge…definite loss for us,” said von Uhl, who consistently sent email blasts and letters to elected officials.

Von Uhl also led a massive protest in August with demonstrators demanding Parks to fast track the building. Parents brought their children to the protest, waving signs that read, “Open our rec center AHORA!” The protest resulted in Parks opening up the public restrooms for families getting their exercise at the sprawling, 13.1-acre park.

Bronx Parks Commissioner Hector Aponte, the event’s master of ceremonies, credited Friends of Williamsbridge Oval Park for their persistence in “prodding” the agency to hurry up with work. “We’re probably here today probably because of a little prodding,” said Aponte, drawing laughs. He later admitted the agency could’ve done better to speed up the project. “It took some time to finish the center, but I think you’ll be quite impressed by the center to see all that we have done.”

He later insisted much of the delay was the result of a change in plans, mainly the extra $1 million Parks had requested from the mitigation fund to gut the building’s interior and replace it with new amenities that “appeal to young people and seniors,” as Deputy Commissioner Robert Garafola put it. Some features include an exercise room with 2800 new pieces of equipment, a locker room, game room, multi-purpose room for meetings or exercise classes and a computer lab, part of the agency’s Computer Resource Center, an education enrichment program by Parks. Inside, eight personal computer stations have been set up for anyone looking to improve upon their tech skills.

The project funds came from the Croton Water Filtration Plant mitigation fund, a capital trust created by the city Department of Environmental Protection. The agency earmarked $200 million toward upgrades or repairs for parks throughout the Bronx, including Williamsbridge Oval, in exchange for the community’s consent to build the Croton Water Filtration Plant in Van Cortlandt Park, destroying several acres of parkland.

“The community earned everything that’s taken place here,” said Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. “This community above every other neighborhood in the Bronx had to put up with that horrible project in Van Cortlandt Park.”

Tour

Shortly after the ceremonial green ribbon cutting, families were free to take a tour of the center, which is free for kids 17 and under. Adults 18 to 24 and senior citizens pay $25 for a full-year membership while adults 25 and older pay $100.

Dozens signed up for membership, including Adaline Walker-Santiago, chairwoman of Community Board 7 covering Norwood. She’s already planned to hold general board meetings inside the multi-purpose room.

Inside the weight room on the first floor, 17-year-old Justin Ramirez jumped at the chance to try the new exercise equipment. He’s back at the gym that was a hangout spot when he was 12 years old. He remembered the day it closed years back.

“It was devastating. It used to be a spot where we would come and chill, play pool,” said Justin. “When it closed, all the people we used to hang with separated.”

Upstairs, Stephanie Woo dropped by midway into an afternoon Zumba class with daughter Maggie in tow. The pair was glad to see improvements, labeling the old center as an “eyesore.” “We didn’t even have bathrooms,” said Woo, a lifelong Norwood resident. “We had to go home or find some restaurants on the avenue.”

With the days of inconvenience behind them, the Friends of Williamsbridge Oval is basking in their milestone.

“I sit home…and email and email and make phone calls, and write press releases. I don’t get paid for this,” said von Uhl. “But today is my paycheck.”