At the Downtown Community Center, Fridays Are Nonstop Fun

By April Koral
POSTED SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

It was Friday night and James Dellasala, 12, was gleefully doing battle at his favorite pin ball game, The Simpsons. Around him some teens were shooting pool and baskets, while others were bent over games of air hockey and Uno.

When asked to assess the two-month-old teen program at the Downtown Community Center on Warren Street, Dellasala stopped and slowly looked around the noisy room.

“I give it a 9 out of 10,” he finally said, though he couldn’t think of anything he didn’t like. “Nothing is perfect in this world,” he explained. “Not even Canada.”

The Manhattan Youth program, for kids 11 to 17, is three hours of fun—games, swimming (the kids’ favorite activity) and arts and crafts.

“We have rules, but they’re lenient,” said teen director Gaby Sasson. “The kids are at the age when they should have some freedom.”

“It’s good to know that every Friday you can come here and relax,” said Sarah D’Amico, 14, adding that she and her friend Dena Moftah, 13, were feeling “stressed” about their upcoming first year in high school.

After more than an hour in the pool, it was off to the art room, where ceramics teacher Liz Lohr doled out fistfuls of clay.

“How do I make hair?” Nadja Steiner, 11, asked, studying the clay head she had created. To her delight, Lohr gave her a garlic press which produced instant tresses. Sebastian Perez, 14, used the press to make swirls of cheese for his clay pizza.

At 9:30 p.m., word came that Mia Powers’ parents had come to pick up her and Nadja. And for the first time that night, there were sighs of disappointment.

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