Brooklyn’s Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center First NYC Public Building to Meet New LEED v4 Platinum Standards for Environmental Sustainability

Completed in half the usual time using design-build contracting

DDC: Denisse Moreno, 718-391-1854, morenode@ddc.nyc.gov

(Long Island City, NY – February 20, 2026)  Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) announced today that the new Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Brooklyn, which opened on February 9 after just three years of work by DDC, has become New York City’s first public building to meet LEED v4 Platinum standards for environmental sustainability. Only two other private buildings citywide meet the same standard. 

The $141 million recreation center, located at 3002 Foster Avenue in East Flatbush, is also New York City’s first completely public building to be constructed using the design-build method of contracting. Using design-build, DDC was able to complete the Center at least three years faster than would have been possible under the traditional system of lowest bidder contracting, and with a projected ten percent cost savings. Similar public buildings have historically taken six full years or more to be completed under lowest bidder contracting. 

“The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center is an all-electric building designed to the highest standards for environmental sustainability, and is a milestone not just for Brooklyn but also for construction reform in New York City,” said DDC Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle. “DDC provided a world-class design and was able to deliver it in record time through our growing design-build program, saving at least three years of project time. We look forward to similar results with the other projects in our design-build portfolio, including three other Parks recreation centers.” 

The various strategies employed in the new Center achieve an energy reduction of more than half as well as a cost savings of 34 percent when compared to similar buildings, while also reducing fresh water use by 43 percent. Stormwater is managed on-site to reduce loading on the City’s sewer system, while the materials used in construction were selected for reducing embodied carbon. The new Center also incorporates NYC Active Design Guidelines and earned LEED credits for occupant wellness. 

Additional LEED credits were also earned in numerous categories, including for on-site bike parking; a reduced vehicular parking footprint; on-site electric vehicle chargers for Parks vehicles; an effective erosion control plan; reduction of the heat island effect; eliminating CFCs from the HVAC system; effective construction and demolition waste management; enhanced interior air quality; the use of materials with low VOC emissions; the use of LED lighting; and enhanced lighting and HVAC controls that allow for control of individual spaces inside the building. 

LEED certification is a function of the US Green Building Council and is the world’s most widely used green building rating system. Projects can be LEED certified at four different levels called Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. NYU’s Rubin Hall at 35 Fifth Avenue and the residential rental development known as “Sven” in Long Island City are the only two other buildings citywide have met the same LEED v4 Platinum standards.  

DDC in late-2019 received permission from the State to use design-build contracting for a variety of projects, and all six projects in its initial pilot program will be completed before the end of the year. In April 2025, DDC completed the Orchard Beach Maintenance & Operations Center for NYC Parks 2.6 years faster than would have been possible with lowest bidder contracting. In February 2025, the City released its annual Design-Build Progress Report to the State Legislature, detailing 42 projects across several agencies using design-build.  

About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager, providing New York’s diverse communities in all five boroughs with new or renovated public buildings such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, and new or upgraded roads, sewers and water mains. To manage this $34 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to City projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.