Hoops Return To Dwight

An eagerly awaited new basketball court was already in full use Saturday when a time-out was called — so it could be officially dedicated.

The occasion was the christening of an outdoor court at Amistad Academy, a charter school that took over and renovated the old Dwight School two years ago.

About 40 neighbors, city officials, members of Achievement First (the organization that runs the charter school), and a dozen or so children eager to rush back on the court to take another shot, gathered at the corner of Chapel and Day streets during the neighborhood’s annual Spring Festival to celebrate the completion of the community basketball court.

Discussions about building a new court have been underway since the school was rebuilt two years ago. The old court, out of view from the street, was closed to make room for the school’s full size soccer field. Edgewood Alderwoman Evette Hamilton said that the court’s closing prompted a lot of conversations in the community. After taking this input from the neighborhood into consideration, Achievement First partnered with the parks department, which oversaw the construction and design, to build a full-sized high-school regulation court.

David Newton, a consultant to Achievement First and member of the Dwight Advisory Design Team, praised the new court’s proximity to Chapel Street, and its improved accessibility and safety. The public park was ​“not in the best shape” prior to the addition of the court, he said. Amistad Academy’s soccer field is also open to the public.

“It’s a win-win for the neighborhood,” he said following the ceremony. He pointed to the court where children, again, chased around two basketballs.

“This is about the youth and whatever it takes to keep them occupied,” Hamilton said. She added that the neighborhood looks forward to someday developing the other side of the park, now a plot of sparse grass, into a playground for even smaller children.

​“I’m glad they put it back so that kids will have something to do outside,” Dwight neighbor Tanya Fuller said. ​“They’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”

Later that afternoon the court had separated itself by age: Teenagers had a game going on one side and middle-schoolers on the other. ​“They finally did something for us,” Dwight neighborhood teenager Jonathan Rodriguez said. ​“Finally.”