‘Hoops 4 U’ Community Basketball Court Dedicated in Cortlandt
Less than a year after two local fifth grade students approached Supervisor Linda Puglisi about having a basketball court built in their neighborhood, the Town of Cortlandt “Hoops 4 U” Sherwood Square Basketball Court was dedicated last week on Young Street.
The approximately $30,000 project was initiated by Catherine Mazza and Angelie Tomais, who walked into Puglisi’s office at Town Hall last year armed with a scrapbook, petitions and a diagram of how the court should be constructed.
“I’ve never seen a project get off the ground like this. It’s amazing,” said Cortlandt Recreation Director John Palmiotto. “Something like this really brings a neighborhood together. It’s something that will bring a lot of memories.”
Puglisi, who presented Mazza and Tomais with certificates as a slew of family and friends cheered them on, said the recently graduated Putnam Valley Middle School sixth grade friends were involved in every aspect of the project.
“They had the vision for this town-owned property,” she said. “The girls reviewed plans and gave constructive ideas. For a project to be completed in 10 to 11 months, that doesn’t always happen. You’re not just our future leaders in our community, you are leaders today.”
Councilman John Sloan was equally impressed with the business plan Mazza and Tomais were able to put together and follow through to completion.
“What Catherine and Angelie did was remarkable,” he said. “The Knicks need help and who says it couldn’t start here?”
There are 21 youngsters in the Young Street neighborhood five years old and over. The half court was completed by A. Supino & Sons.
Mazza and Tomais, who both took the honorary first shots at the new hoop, were thrilled with the final outcome of their hard work.
“We wanted to get this basketball court built. Thank you so much for making our dreams come true,” Mazza said.
“It all began as a simple idea, let’s build a basketball court,” Tomais said. “It was one year of hard work, sweat and tears, but we did it, so let’s have some fun!”
The “Hoops 4 U” Sherwood Square Basketball Court is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to dusk.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
