HUNTERS POINT — A new community center opening in February will offer free or low-cost English-language classes, after school programs, and other services for local kids and seniors, according to organizers.
Renew Queens, a nonprofit formed recently by several local residents, will open the center on the first floor of 47-20 11th St. at the corner of 47th Road, where they hope to begin offering activities as early as February.
"We believe in community — we believe in helping one another," said Director Seth Bazacas, adding that one of the organization's goals is to help Long Island City residents feel more connected to the area and one another.
"How do we, in a small way, participate to help Western Queens be able to be long-term for people, where they feel like they can raise their families and grow old?" he continued. "Arts, programs, those kinds of things that make Western Queens remain a home and not just a feeder community."
Bazacas, a member of Trinity Grace Church in Dutch Kills along with two of Renew Queens' other board members, said he got involved in planning community events while helping organize the church's annual Easter egg hunts.
The idea of creating a community center came out of years of conversations with other local leaders about the fact that the growing waterfront area doesn't currently have such a site.
"Space is constantly an issue in a gentrifying neighborhood — space gets taken up, understandably so, for revenue purposes," he said.
The group's ideas for the center include hosting family movie nights, sports tournaments, art classes for kids, mentorship programs and activities for seniors.
They also plan to make the site available to existing neighborhood organizations to use if they need it, Bazacas said. The space would be available to rent or through a partnership with Renew Queens, he added.
"We want to become a partnership space," he said.
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