Op-Ed: Locals Rally as the Five Towns Community Center Fights to Stay Open

By: Jayden Emery

Community benefits most when those within come together and assist each other. A community in particular that represents the strength needed would be the Five Towns community. Many within the Five Towns have benefited from the local Community Center throughout its 115 years of service, and many have also come to volunteer. It has served as a vital resource for those who need assistance, giving many people in the community significant relief.

In times of chaos within the community, the center has always been there to serve. Many in the community were challenged during the time of Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, as so many of us lost our electricity and faced horrible damage to our homes. Inwood resident Sasha Young (in her public appearance in front of local elected officials) stated, “If it weren’t for the services through the community center during the time of Sandy, I don’t even know if I would’ve made it through.”

In 2020 during the covid pandemic, when many in the community had been going through the hardships of making ends meet, the FTCC had its doors open, providing families with the necessities many could not obtain at the time. Many kind souls had taken on voluntary work packing, delivering, and handing out food donated at the time from local establishments. The people of the Five Towns were brought together, for everyone was in the same boat.

Today the center is open to all, lending a helping hand to anyone in need. Within covid, Gammy’s Pantry (operated by Sasha Young) known as the official pantry of the center, opened its doors, offering food and clothing to those in need. In addition, residents of the community are invited to participate in community activities/services such as Health and Prevention, Aid to the Foreign Born, Senior Services, Girl Scouts, Basketball for Adults, Zumba, STEAM, Defensive Driving, English Classes, Community garden, Cooking and Garden Classes, AA, counseling Services, Food Stamps, Health insurance, and serves as a COVID Testing and Vaccination site.

The center also offers a teen after-school program throughout the year, and a summer camp for the youth, providing activities for the community’s children and employing young adults. Both keeping the youth off the streets and within a safe haven, where they are given access to electronics, board games, and the ability to do their homework.

Still, the Five Towns is at great risk of losing its Community Center. The center needs a re-signing of its lease, or the critical services and resources the center offers to the community will end in 2024. In a community where the nearest supermarket is a mile away, where many travel by foot, many are below the poverty line, and a huge population of senior citizens are located, the center is a vital part of the community and has served as a safe place for many.

The support of our elected officials who represent our district and county is much needed at this time; however, they choose to lay low rather than advocate for the center to remain in place. The County Executive for Nassau, Bruce Blakeman, was elected into office within the past year. Blakeman expressed numerous times during his campaign that when voting for him, we’d be voting for “the priority of the best interest of the people of the county,” yet has he acknowledged the plea for the re-signing of the lease for the community center? Our elected officials are failing us. The truth is that our county officials do not believe the center is a vital part of the community, and in response to this Sasha Young stated “Hearing on Channel 12 News that the county says the center does not serve the community was hurtful to me and the dozens of teens from LHS and neighborhood districts that volunteered over the last few years, and the 100’s that have volunteered every single day 365 days a year to ensure community members have life-sustaining items, and a safe space full of enrichment and opportunity. It is unfathomable that renewing the lease and ensuring these life-saving services is even a question.”

As community students, we must come together to save the center because with it the majority of the Five Towns may be able to overcome times of chaos. I encourage you all to call the offices of the following elected officials and express your outrage.

Governor Kathy Hochul: 518-474-8390
County Executive Bruce Blackman: 516-571-3131
Councilwoman Mellisa Miller: 516-812-3523
Rep. Anthony P. D’Esposito: 202-225-5516
Town Clerk Kate Murray: 516-489-5000, ext. 3046

Even if you are a student who doesn’t benefit from the center, you must understand its importance within the community. As students and the youth of our community, we have to ensure this center will be there to serve the next generation. The wise Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much.” May we reflect on those words, and come together as one team and community to save the true rock of the 5 Towns. Without it, the community surely will suffer.

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*These views express the opinions of the authors alone and not necessarily those of the owners & management of 5TownsCentral.

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