Middletown Unveils New Recreation Center

The Middletown Recreation and Parks Department moved to their new facility in July and has now opened their new recreation and parks center.

The center sits on over 15 acres, which includes five buildings and a ball field. The center is located at 393 County Route 78, the former New York State-run START Center.

The facilities include a school building, a gymnasium, an office building, and two garages. The City of Middletown was able to negotiate with Governor Andrew Cuomo to purchase the campus from New York State for $1. The Orange County Chief’s Association is also housed in one of the buildings on the property.

Senator Jen Metzger said:

It is so important for our young people to have safe and healthy opportunities to socialize, have fun, and get physical exercise, and I applaud Mayor Joe DeStefano and the Middletown Recreation and Parks Department for their vision and work to transform this property into a major family, youth and recreational asset for the Middletown and Wallkill communities. I was thrilled to be able to secure funding to help support this project, and look forward to continuing to partner with the City in its ongoing efforts to expand green spaces and recreational opportunities for our young people and the whole community.

Recreation and Parks began reopening in July and have been able to utilize many of the features on the property including the gymnasium, the fields, the office building, and the conference room.

Middletown Mayor, Joe DeStefano said:

We are very pleased The City was able to acquire this property for our Recreation programming. This property has greenspace and ball fields that weren’t available at the Academy Ave. location, and with this extra space they have been able to expand programming during COVID which would not have been possible at the old center. We are thankful for the support that Senator Metzger and Assemblywoman Gunther have shown for this project.

The Middletown Recreation and Parks Department is looking forward to expanding its programming with COVID-19 guidelines in place.