Ex-NBA star shoots hoops at Teen Center’s opening

STAMFORD — The new Teen Center at the Boys and Girls Club of Stamford officially opened with a basketball shootaround Friday morning — with a former NBA star on hand to help get things started.

Allan Houston, a mentor and coach at the club who played nine seasons with the New York Knicks, took turns passing the ball to Stamford teenagers, as well as Mayor David Martin and Police Chief Tim Shaw, on the new club’s freshly built court.

“I’m six-foot-one-inches tall, but I play like I’m fivetwo,” the mayor joked, after taking jump shots with Houston and a handful of Stamford teens who were there to mark the opening of the roughly $4 million addition to the Boys and Girls Club on Stillwater Avenue.

On a more serious note, Martin said the Teen Center fills a real need. There was a shortage of dedicated facilities for teenagers in the community, he said.

“This will be a great place for kids to grow up strong — strong in mind, body and spirit,” he said.

Two local teens liked what they saw.

“I like it a lot, it’s better than what they had before,” said Rodney Lassiter, 14.

“I’m really looking forward to playing here,” said Austin Bryant, 13.

The 16,000-square-foot facility holds athletic facilities like the basketball court and a weight training room, but it also has a number of other attractions, said Boys and Girls Club CEO Rowena Track. The goal was for the new Teen Center to be “multidisciplinary,” she said, and the court will also act as a performance space with a theater stage.

Track said the club offers a wide range of programming besides sports — such as computer-coding, chess competitions and graphic design. The overall aim is to provide services and education for an under-resourced segment of the community, the Boys and Girls Club administrators said.

“It’s about hope, opportunity and bright futures,” Track said.

Speakers at the opening of the facility said the Teen Center is not just about fun and games.

“A lot of social injustice and racism out there,” said Barry Woods, addressing himself to a number of African-American teenagers on the court, and gesturing to the streets outside the club walls, “You are growing up in this atmosphere. It’s our job as adults to set you up properly. You’re taking the next charge . ... And your voices matter.”

The police chief said officers from the department will regularly be visiting the Teen Center, in an informal capacity to build up trust and a sense of community with young people. Shaw said police officers are striving to make connections in the community, with teenagers especially, and he hoped interactions at the Teen Center would be beneficial for everyone.

“Hold me accountable,” the chief said. “Can we do better? How can we be better? And the more interactions we have, the better off the entire community will be.”