Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

I am writing on behalf of the Mary Mitchell Center which is located in the Crotona section of the Bronx at 2007 Mapes Avenue.

Please find it in your heart to make sure the center is given back to the community. About 400 or more young people and 28 community groups participate
in the Center. It is the only Center in the neighborhood that many of the young children can attend after school. Most of the after school programs are cut from the schools
that they attend and to take away their Center, sends a daunting message to them about what you think of them and what you think of their future.

In November 2009, there was a shoot-out next door to the Center and had it not been for the shelter of the center from the flying bullets, there could have been innocent blood shed. In addition, it is highly important for the community to provide family support for one another. Most of the parents work far away from home and are not there to receive their children as they come out of school. Thus, the center opens just in time for the children to go to after school and to do their homework and other activities such as piano and creative arts until their parents can pick them up.

Giving the Center back to the community board will not only help the city keep the promise that it made with the community but show the youth that not only does their community care for them but the Mayor of the City of New York also cares a great deal.