DONGAN HILLS — A cultural center for Turkish people on Staten Island has started a fundraiser to get $85,000 to renovate a new space.
The Turkish Cultural Center of Staten Island (TCCSI) started an Indiegogo campaign last week to build a traditional Turkish style sitting room, help improve classrooms, build a new lobby and improve space at its new spot at 1665 Richmond Road, in Dongan Hills.
"We had a small location before," said Hakan Baydere, advisor for the TCCSI. "We finally found a bigger location. It's going to be better for the community in many ways."
The center will move from it's current location at 1756 Hylan Boulevard. The new place, which they'll move into next month, will have a meeting space big enough for 150 people, Baydere said.
"It's going to be fully able to serve our needs," he said. "Hopefully we'll be able to reach out to the community and ask them to use our space, most likely free of charge."
The online fundraising campaign ends on Sept. 1. It has yet to receive a donation.
The center has been on Staten Island for around seven years, Baydere said.
Aside from letting the community use space for events, the center hosts classes on the Turkish language, cultural nights and festivals, Baydere said.
"We're just a bunch of businessmen that came together and we opened the center to introduce the culture to the U.S. and our neighborhood," he said.
The group hopes to finish the renovations on the new space by the fall.
