Three basketball courts at Fish Playground in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, have completed renovations as part of a $2.89 million initiative to upgrade recreational facilities across five Brooklyn parks, according to NY YIMBY.
Funded by the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund through NYC Parks’ Adopt-A-Park program, the project brings new playing surfaces, equipment and amenities to the neighborhood.
The courts have been repaved with a gray, black and seafoam green color scheme and fitted with new backboards and nets. Additional improvements include benches for players and spectators, a drinking fountain and refurbished perimeter fencing with new mesh.
The upgrades are designed to improve the playing environment while maintaining visibility into the park and preventing basketballs from bouncing into nearby streets.
Opened in 1965, Fish Playground is jointly operated by NYC Parks and the Department of Education. Its name comes from the streets bordering the property: Fulton Street, Saratoga Avenue and Herkimer Street. The renovated courts provide an updated recreational space for residents, students and other park visitors in Ocean Hill.
The project is part of a broader investment targeting Brooklyn neighborhoods experiencing high levels of gun violence. Through its racial justice initiative, the Social Justice Fund is working with NYC Parks to expand access to recreational facilities and improve public spaces in communities facing these challenges.
Beyond Fish Playground, the initiative has supported basketball court renovations at Jackie Robinson Playground in Crown Heights, Breukelen Ballfields in East New York, Fox Playground in Flatlands and Sunset Park. Together, the five locations account for 13 upgraded basketball courts.
With work at Fish Playground now complete, the three renovated courts add to the broader investment in Brooklyn's public recreational infrastructure. No additional construction phases or future programming dates were specified in the announcement.
