ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A nonprofit launched last year to support Allentown’s park system is set to soon launch into its first project.
The Allentown Parknership plans to build a full-size basketball court at Stevens Park, at Sixth and Tilghman streets, according to a news release from the organization.
It will include glass backboards, a durable painted surface and “breakaway” rims, which the courts at Cedar Beach at the city's Cedar Creek Park also feature after a recent update.
“A real slam dunk for the neighborhood.”Simon Moore, chairman of the Allentown Parknership’s board
The Parknership is funding the $75,000 court through its Dorothy Rider Pool Endowment for Culture, Arts and Education, which the organization says is “dedicated to supporting and developing parks in distressed neighborhoods.”
Simon Moore, chairman of the Allentown Parknership’s board, said the new basketball court is “an ideal first project” for the organization to make “a huge difference quickly.”
He fittingly called it “a real slam dunk for the neighborhood.”
'A chance to do better'
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk thanked the Parknership for its investment in Stevens Park, calling it a good place to “start rebuilding trust” with residents.
The city’s ongoing process to build a comprehensive parks plan identified a need for a full basketball court in the north-central part of Allentown, according to officials.
“As our city has grown, the residents around Stevens Park have often been overlooked — or given changes that didn’t match what they actually wanted. This new, full court is a chance to do better.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
“As our city has grown, the residents around Stevens Park have often been overlooked — or given changes that didn’t match what they actually wanted,” Tuerk said in the release. “This new, full court is a chance to do better.”
Ruffian Tittman, who was chosen the Parknership’s executive director in March, said the basketball court highlights the organization’s “unique ability to use private funding for public good” in Allentown’s parks.
The Parknership was founded last spring with a donation of more than $500,000 from the Harry C. Trexler Trust.
The Rider-Pool Foundation contributed $75,000 to help establish the new nonprofit and gave another $500,000 in November.
That six-figure “landmark” gift establish an endowment to improve health outcomes in the city’s underserved communities with projects such as the planned basketball court in Stevens Park.
