Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has announced that the County will be receiving five new basketball courts, courtesy of Nancy Lieberman Charities as part of their Dream Court™ Program. The donation to the County, valued at $325,000, is thanks to an introduction from Senator Todd Kaminsky to basketball legend Nancy Lieberman. Three of the locations for the new basketball courts have been identified and include Inwood Park, North Woodmere Park and Wantagh Park. The two remaining sites are currently being evaluated by the County and will be announced in the coming weeks. The nonprofit will undertake the construction and installation of the courts at the five locations. The first Dream Court is expected to be ready for play by mid-summer 2021.
“I am honored and humbled by this gracious donation from Nassau native, basketball icon and generous philanthropist, Nancy Lieberman, which will provide local youth with more safe places to build friendships, build confidence and compete throughout our cherished County parks,” said County Executive Laura Curran. “These new state-of-the-art basketball courts will be a gamechanger for our communities and I must thank Senator Todd Kaminsky for the introduction to Nancy and her incredible organization which led to this generous gift.”
“Basketball legend Nancy Lieberman confronted adversity and worked hard to become a professional athlete and coach — but she never forgot where she came from. Her amazing gift will provide our children with a safe place to recreate and foster a lifelong love of basketball and teamwork,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky. “When Nancy reached out to me about this opportunity, I knew right away that the children of Nassau County could benefit from her foundation’s generosity.”
The nonprofit’s Dream Court™ program focuses on building high quality basketball courts for children in underserved communities across the country. The goal of this program is to keep children off the streets and provide them with a safe and competitive environment where they can develop skills such as teamwork and good sportsmanship. The foundation also supports many programs including “Cops and Kids” initiative, STEM and Civic Engagement programming.
“I couldn’t be happier to be adding to all that Nassau County does for children. To have Dream Courts in areas that I grew up playing is one of the most wonderful things that I believe that we can give back to communities that enriched us as young people. I look forward to the partnership,” said Basketball Hall of Famer and Nancy Lieberman Charities Founder, Nancy Lieberman.
The parks department will be responsible for any maintenance after the courts are installed.
Nancy Lieberman Charities has previously donated two Dream Courts to the City of Long Beach which was installed in 2015 at the Long Beach Recreation Center and refurbished in 2018.