BATTERY PARK CITY — Asphalt Green's new Battery Park City Community Center won't just teach sports — it will also offer classes in everything from gourmet cooking to circus arts.
This week, Carol Tweedy, executive director of Asphalt Green, unveiled some of the organizations she plans to bring in to run programs at the soon-to-open 52,000-square-foot facility at North End Avenue and Murray Street.
Great Performances, a catering company, will offer lessons to chefs young and old with a range of classes, including a "Clean Plate Club" for children to attend with their parents and a Culinary Boot Camp that will teach adults how to chop with the speed of a professional.
Those who aspire to join the circus — or just want to get a taste of it — will be able to take lessons from InShape Circus, a Yonkers-based program that teaches trapeze swinging, Tweedy said at a Battery Park City Authority meeting Tuesday.
Another new Asphalt Green partner is the Church Street School for Music and Art, already a beloved institution across the West Side Highway in TriBeCa, which will bring its creative classes to Battery Park City for the first time, Tweedy said.
The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy will also use Asphalt Green's center, running an indoor version of their all-ages outdoor programs, which currently include Tai Chi and soccer.
In addition, Tweedy said the center will offer classes in dance, creative writing and crafts.
Tweedy said her goal was to offer classes that are "not cookie cutter," and she expects the offerings to evolve based on demand.
For seniors, Asphalt Green will run a range of programs including reduced-price exercise classes, a walking club, a book club and a film series, Tweedy said.
Asphalt Green has not yet announced fees for the programs and classes, but Tweedy said the center would offer some need-based financial aid.
The $55 million facility, at 212 N. End Ave., also includes a six-lane, competition-length pool, a warmer teaching pool, a full-court gym, exercise and free-weight equipment and a 156-seat theater.
Memberships start at $105 per month for an individual, plus a $199 initiation fee, a spokeswoman said. Families with two adults and two children will pay $175, plus a $299 initiation fee.
Since the memberships went on sale last month, Asphalt Green has already sold 260 packages, of which 65 percent went to families, Tweedy said.
Demand has been so strong that Tweedy is holding off on signing up groups of corporate workers from the neighborhood, because she wants to ensure all residents are able to get a spot, she said.
The center will have a soft opening in November and will launch fully in January.
"We're all looking forward to the ribbon cutting," Tweedy said.
