Community members rallied to keep Kingsessing Rec’s basketball courts open. Parks and Rec listened.

The basketball courts at the Kingsessing Recreation Center will remain open as long-overdue renovations begin at the building.

Initially, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department had been planning to close the four courts located outside the rec center during the anticipated 12 to 18 months it would take to complete its $25 million renovation project under the city’s Rebuild program. The projected renovations include a new playground, accessibility upgrades, updated bathrooms and security systems, central air, and new plumbing and electric. Parks and Rec had cited safety reasons for the closure of the courts, since construction equipment would be in the area.

While many community members are looking forward to the renovations, which have been delayed for years, they were outraged after learning earlier this week that the outdoor basketball courts would be closed — particularly because other nearby rec centers will also be closed for upgrades, leaving youth with nowhere to go.

» READ MORE: Philly teenagers would like safe, accessible, and interesting places to hang out. They can’t find any.

“Our youth depend on these rec centers,” said Bashir Lingham, a Southwest resident who frequently uses the recreation centers in the area and strives to be a positive example for the kids there. Lingham sees how vital the courts and rec centers are for some. “It’s a refuge,” he said.

Omar Singletary, founder of the nonprofit Building Boys to Men, Inc., said that without access to rec centers or outdoor courts, kids would have been forced out onto streets and into more danger.

“These places are safe spaces for the youth to play, gather, and congregate,” he said.

Parks and Recreation did not publicly announce their initial decision to shut down the basketball courts, but Constance Crews, president of the Kingsessing Recreation Advisory Council, said she shared the information at numerous community meetings about the renovations over the summer.

Community members found out about the basketball court closures, and spent this week rallying to keep them open through social media and phone calls and emails to the city.

In response to the community outcry, the Parks and Recreation department announced Friday it would be keeping the courts open through construction and would make them available for use starting this weekend.

“Based on feedback from Councilmember [Jamie] Gauthier’s office and community members, we have decided to reopen the outdoor basketball courts at Kingsessing Rec,” a Parks and Recreation spokesperson said via email.

“Safety in and around our parks and playgrounds is Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s primary concern, and we’ll continue to hold conversations with community stakeholders and evaluate all options to provide safe high-quality recreation to Kingsessing residents as the project progresses.”

» READ MORE: This ‘Green Vision Plan for Kingsessing’ was drafted with the say — and approval — of community members

In an emailed statement, Gauthier, whose district includes the rec center, said she was glad to hear the basketball courts would remain open throughout the renovation since she explicitly requested that Parks and Rec not shut them down.

“Kingsessing Rec is one of the most actively used public spaces in West and Southwest,” she said. “Now more than ever, Southwest Philadelphians need places to play, gather, and build community. Unnecessarily taking community resources like these basketball courts offline works against our efforts to combat gun violence and uplift neighborhoods.”

The renovation project is one of the largest the city is undertaking in its Rebuild initiative, a $500 million investment in city parks, recreation centers, and libraries. City officials ceremonially broke ground on the rec center’s renovations in September, after years of delays. In response to criticism of the slow pace from residents and City Council members, Mayor Jim Kenney said litigation, the pandemic, and the community engagement and contracting processes all contributed to the delays.

Crews believes that the long renovation process will be worth it in the end.

“Technically, we’re getting a brand new rec center,” she said. “It’s going to take time, and right now it hurts a little bit, but in the end, we’re going to have a phenomenal place for our kids to be.”