Fun and games
at Disston Recreation

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Two Tacony sons played arcade games in the game room of the Disston Recreation Center’s new teen center while waiting for Mayor John Street to arrive to dedicate it.
Though those Tacony boys spent many a day at the Longshore Avenue center in their youth, the neighborhood civic association president, Anthony Naccarato, and vice president, Louis M. Iatarola, are a little too old to make use of the center, which is geared toward 13- to 18-year-olds.
During a tour of the center’s amenities, Street gave an NBA Jam Session arcade game a quick try before saying that he wants Kobe Bryant in Philadelphia.
The center boasts a 50-inch television set in the media room with comfy sofas and a PlayStation, a 10 station computer lab, in what was once a raggedy old kitchen. There is also a weight room with television and the center’s basketball court.
"I hope it’s a fun thing for the kids," said center supervisor Steve Goldman.
Joined by about a dozen Tacony teens and flanked by City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski and Recreation Commissioner Victor N. Richard III, Street cut the ribbon to officially dedicate the center.
"This is a good thing," Street noted.
The Tacony center is the 13th in the city. Another Northeast center is located at the Lawncrest Recreation Center, 6000 Rising Sun Ave. Both facilities operate Monday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.
The centers provide a wide range of recreation and social programs for youths ages 13 to 18. They offer educational and cultural programs, youth development training, mentoring workshops and job readiness courses, in addition to the sports and fitness programs offered at other recreation facilities. Outreach services are also provided to recruit and engage youth in the community who may be at risk.
"Recreation is an integral part of everything we do to help families and neighborhoods," the mayor said.
The city’s teen centers are funded by the Human Services Development Fund — which provides funding for programs in Pennsylvania counties that help senior citizens stay healthy, keep people out of institutions, and nurture children, youth and families — and a juvenile accountability block grant, which are federal funds delivered through the district attorney’s office, as well as a portion of the city’s general fund, according to the commissioner.
Richard estimated the Tacony center’s investment at about $200,000 for materials, labor and amenities. The salaries for two workers comes to about $50,000.
The mayor called 13 teen centers a major achievement. Beginning in 2000, the centers stemmed from an effort to reach out to teens in high-crime areas. While not the only focus, the rec department will continue to examine those statistics.
According to Richard, another teen center is in the pipeline in the Ogontz section of the city. Although initial steps have not yet begun, Richard also has his eye on locating another center near Northeast High School.
"Youths today have so many distractions to get caught up in the wrong things," Street said.
The teen centers give them an alternative, he noted. ••
For more information about registration for the teen center, stop in at 4423 Longshore Ave., or call 215-685-8750, or go to www.phila.gov/recreation_old/teen_centers
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com