Cars were parked bumper to bumper on South William Street in Newburgh on Saturday morning, as the Unity Center began a new semester.
A line formed at the door to the armory on Sept. 12. Enrollment was time-consuming, because of a new procedure. Kids still don’t pay to learn karate or play indoor basketball or soccer, but now they have to agree to take part in an academic course. It’s what Bill Kaplan calls “their dues.”
Mr. Kaplan is the founder of the Unity Center and the Chairman of the Board. At 8 a.m., he was already standing near the registration table, waiting to shake hands with parents and kids after they signed up.
Five years ago, he headed a group that obtained the Armory from New York State for a dollar. Since then the Unity Center has been reclaiming big chunks of the building. It now has several classrooms in addition to the playing fields, and more rooms are on the way.
The aim of the center is to provide enrichment, to make kids feel good about themselves, and make them feel like they belong. That’s why Mr. Kaplan greets them at the door, and that’s why everybody gets a shirt — so they feel like they’re part of a team.
The outreach is aimed at the young people in Newburgh — the ones who may be most susceptible to the influence of gangs. But everyone is welcome, and it’s not hard to find families from Cornwall.
The teachers and coaches are all volunteers. Students from Storm King School are helping on Saturdays (see page 5A), along with undergraduates from Mount Saint Mary College. Russ Vernon, a member of the Board of Directors, says the arrangement is working well. The young class leaders are gaining experience, and the kids feel at home with them.
Jim Gagliano of Cornwall-on-Hudson has been running the basketball program along with some alumni from his AAU teams. Mr. Gagliano, an FBI agent and a West Point graduate, admits that his program is a little like a boot camp –which is OK, because the kids enjoy it.
At 8 o’clock, his players started at age four and went up to second grade. They gathered in the circle at center court, stood at attention, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to start the class, Afterwards, there were relay races and drills.
When the hour long session was over, Coach Gagliano brought the kids back to the circle and gave them an assignment that was as unique as the Unity Center dues. “Your homework,” he said, “is to do something nice for someone this week, without telling them what you did. And when you come back next Saturday, you can tell us about it.”
NOTE:The kids took the assignment seriously. A week later, Coach Gagliano asked who remembered the homework, and almost every hand was raised.
