State funding to help pay for two Syracuse recreation projects

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — State funding will benefit projects at the Magnarelli Community Center gymnasium and at Grant Middle School on Syracuse’s Northside.

The Magnarelli Center will use $150,000 for upgrades to the facility’s indoor basketball courts. Crews will use a grant of more than $203,000 to construct a soccer field at Grant Middle School.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and New York State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) announced the funding during an event held Thursday at the Magnarelli Center and in a corresponding news release.

Crews will use the $203,000 grant to turn what are now unused baseball diamonds behind Grant Middle School into a soccer field. The Syracuse School District and recreational programs within the city’s Parks Department will use the new field, according to the news release.

The funding for the Magnarelli Center will pay for new basketball backboards, a divider curtain for the gymnasium, and new safety pads.

More than 350 senior citizens and 250 youth use the Center each week, according to the news release.

Magnarelli secured the grants for both projects.

“Neighborhood residents have advocated for additional recreational facilities to encourage children to not only be physically active but also and most importantly to be involved in productive and supervised activities. Basketball is extremely popular at the Center and these new improvements will allow more youth to be involved. Soccer is becoming one of our most desired sports and these new fields will add a vital resource to many of our Northside families,” said Magnarelli.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com