Mayor de Blasio green lights Parks
permits for youth sports leagues
BY JESSICA PARKS
Youth sports must go
on!
The city will now issue
permits for youth
sports leagues to play in
the fall season, Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced
Aug. 28 — a reversal
from hizzoner’s earlier
decision to suspend the
program due to the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic.
“The folks from the
sports leagues that do
so much good with our
kids, they’ve been appealing
for the ability to
open up. We’re going to
grant that,” the mayor
said on The Brian Lehrer
Show.
The mayor told listeners
that his change of
heart was prompted by
an Aug. 24 press conference
at Bay Ridge’s Shore
Road Park at which a
bevy of Brooklyn Council
members and organizers
from local sports
leagues called on the city
to let kids play. De Blasio
also gave a special shout
out to Brooklyn’s Prospect
Park Baseball Association
for leading the
charge to get children
back out on the fi eld.
Fall youth sports
leagues for baseball,
non-contact lacrosse,
cricket, soccer and fl ag
football can begin playing
as early as Sept. 15,
according to the Parks
Department website, but
the department will not
be issuing permits for
any adult organizations
currently. All leagues
must complete a safety
checklist before getting
a permit.
Prior to the mayor’s
decision to release permits
for leagues, the
city’s sports fi elds were
still open for pick-up
sports, which area politicians
at the Aug. 24
presser argued is more
hazardous than organized
play when joining
in Bay Ridge in a call
to release permits days
prior to de Blasio’s Aug.
COURIER L 6 IFE, SEPT. 4–10, 2020 B
28 announcement.
“By allowing group
sports but not issuing
permits, City Hall is
sending a message that
pickup games are okay
but organized, permitted,
youth league sports
are somehow not okay.
This idea completely defi
es all available logic,”
Councilman Justin
Brannan said.
And though it took
a fi ght with City Hall
and uncertainty fort the
city’s families prior to
the sports season, local
politicians hailed the return
of some normalcy
to the lives of the city’s
kids as a win.
“This is a victory for
children and families
who were looking for a
safe, healthy outlet – but
it shouldn’t have taken
public pressure to get it
right the fi rst time,” said
State Sen. Andew Gounardes.
“Low-to-moderate
risk youth sports
have been allowed by
the State since July, and
the Parks Department’s
last-minute decision not
to issue youth fall sports
permits caused undue
stress for families. Still,
I am glad that the kids
will be allowed to play in
their fall leagues. This
is a common-sense decision
that will have a positive
impact on equity,
health and safety.”
Kids play soccer at Shore Road Park. Photo by Paul Frangipane
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