{"id":63014,"date":"2025-12-07T01:10:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T01:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63014\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T01:10:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T01:10:21","slug":"staten-island-urban-center-unveils-new-bay-street-facility-in-tompkinsville-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63014\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island Urban Center unveils new Bay Street facility in Tompkinsville (photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 More than one hundred people turned out for the grand opening of the Staten Island Urban Center\u2019s<\/a> new facility at 206 Bay Street in Tompkinsville on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Kelly Vilar<\/a>, CEO of the Urban Center, was excited to welcome a bevy of guests and supporters to explore the new storefront and celebrate with an afternoon of music and activities in a welcoming atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cStaten Island Urban Center is going into its 10th year in 2026,\u201d said Vilar, founder of the center. \u201cWe have been operating in a very small space right above ETG Cafe next door, so it\u2019s nice to have a home, with space to expand our programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spacious new multipurpose facility represents a significant upgrade for the organization, which has been providing environmental education, leadership training and cultural programming for local youth and families since its founding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were happy to get the support of the Trinity Wall Street philanthropy, which allowed us to renovate the space and to get it all furnished and to be able to open our doors today,\u201d Vilar explained.<\/p>\n

Judge Raymond L. Rodriguez<\/a>, administrative judge of the Richmond County Supreme Court, was among those who came to show their support.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, a native Staten Islander, said, \u201cThis is a wonderful place where we can share our cultures and show how diverse Staten Island is, and we are so lucky to have all of us here because it only enriches everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fortunate to have opportunities through the hardworking women in my life, my mom, my grandmothers, and my great-grandmothers. Civic engagement with the youth in our community is critical, so you will always have a partner in me, both personally and with the courts,\u201d added Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

The new facility will serve multiple functions, housing art exhibitions, dance classes, educational workshops and community gatherings. According to Vilar, the space will feature \u201cdifferent artwork from people not just here on Staten Island, but from artists all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cultural programming will be a significant focus, with plans to offer West African dance classes as well as Bomba y Plena, which Vilar described as \u201cAfro, Puerto Rican, Afro Caribbean, Latin, Caribbean dance. That\u2019s very special to Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban and communities all over South America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to expand our food program… and we want to transition that into a workforce development program where we can teach young people food handling skills as well as learning how to work in a restaurant or learning how to own their own business,\u201d Vilar added.<\/p>\n

Fern Metcalf reflected on her grandson\u2019s transformative experience with the Urban Center. Starting at age 11, her grandson, Tyson, quickly distinguished himself by helping older children, and he continued with the program every summer. Metcalf proudly described how he developed maturity and leadership skills under the center\u2019s guidance, eventually being entrusted with significant responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Metcalf said, \u201cI grew up in urban areas in New York and Brooklyn, and you don\u2019t see that all the time. I\u2019m not saying it doesn\u2019t happen, but to actually see it, witness it, and have a family member experience it. His mother and I are very proud of what he has become under Vilar\u2019s guidance and the staff of Staten Island Urban Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virginia Allen, a 2005 Staten Island Advance Woman of Achievement and one of the two surviving Staten Island Black Angels<\/a>, has a long-standing involvement with the Urban Center.<\/p>\n

Allen expressed her immense enthusiasm for the center\u2019s new, larger facility, saying, \u201cThis is fantastic. You can do a lot more here, whether it\u2019s art or mentoring, especially since it\u2019s right off the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event opened with Gregory Taylor offering a libation, \u201cMake this a safe space, make this a space where creativity can thrive. Make this a space that we all can come and share with one another and be at one with one another.\u201d <\/p>\n

Guests enjoyed food prepared by Jonathan Prado of Prado\u2019s Kitchen and Jah-American.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 More than one hundred people turned out for the grand opening of the Staten…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-63014","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}