Joe Abrams, the executive director of the New London Housing Authority, keeps a plaque from the Boys & Girls Club of America in his office on Colman Street.
He named the national organization in his vision statement, and now it’s no longer a vision, it’s a reality since the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Connecticut opened a branch in New London in June.
“From the moment I became the director of the authority, I’ve wanted bring the Boys & Girls Club here,” Abrams said.
“Here,” specifically, is the Thames River Apartments, the public housing unit near the Gold Star Bridge.
The NLHA, which manages the complex, held a celebration late last month to celebrate the opening of the Boys & Girls Club. The event featured local luminaries such as Mayor Kevin Cavanagh, City Councilors Adam Specace and Michael Buscetto, along with Board of Education Vice President Elaine Maynard Adams and City Manager Martin Berliner.
State Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, also praised the work of the NLHA and the Boys & Girls Club.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney sent two American flags that had been flown over the Capitol dome to fly over the complex.
“This will be a summer of celebration at Thames River,” Abrams said.
Tracy Sutton, the president of the complex’s tenants’ association, was nearly moved to tears when talking about the Boys & Girls Club, which almost filled up its allotted membership a day after it took applications.
“The kids are ecstatic,” she said. “They can’t wait. Everything we are doing here, we are doing for the kids.”
Shirley Gillis, the president of the NLHA board, said she’s seen Boys & Girls Clubs work wonders in other cities.
The celebration took place as the paint on the walls of the new activity rooms was still drying.
The Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Connecticut also operates programs in Groton, which run out of the schools; the New London branch of the club will be based in former storage space in the complex’s Building A.
“We are very excited about this,” said Ellen Roman, the director of Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Connecticut. “Our mission is to provide programs to the youth to assist them to be responsible, caring, productive members of society.”
Shantice Grant, the director of operations at the Boys & Girls Club and a Whaling City native, is “glad [the club] is in New London.”
“It will be a positive thing,” she said.
The programs the club is offering this summer include art classes in conjunction with the Kente Cultural Center and trips to the Mystic Aquarium.
Roman said the club will host Smart Moves, a program designed to curb drug and alcohol abuse through “good decision-making and setting goals.” The club, which already has a waiting list, will also offer computer classes and fitness programs.
The past year has seen a turnaround at Thames River; in the past it had been cited as a relic of 1960s social policy, a Great Society mistake, and a failure. But instead of taking steps to knock down the 33-year-old complex, as some in the city have suggested, Abrams had a better idea.
“There was a few out there that thought Thames River would never make it,” he said, “but good management trumped that.”
Abrams noted that the addition of the Boys & Girls Club to the complex is the latest quality-of-life improvement at Thames River. Last year, the building opened a new food bank and the Front Porch Early Childhood Center.
Abrams said in the future the NLHA hopes to address the state of the recreational equipment at Thames River.
“This is about the future of the city,” Abrams said. “It’s going to take some passion, some teamwork, and some love—anything is possible.”