Police Athletic League Opens Tech Learning Space For Youth in Harlem

“I am too smart to be the one who stands in the way of a bunch of kids and an open fire hydrant,” was the scuttled remark from Commissioner Jessica Tisch at the Police Athletic League Center in Harlem on Wednesday, July 29th. The 300-some youth in attendance chanted “open it!” as FDNY members ceremoniously loosened the bolt on a fire hydrant, kicking off the Playstreets Summer Season of 2026.

Sandra Escamilla-Davies, Commissioner of the Division of Youth and Community Development, also kept it brief, congratulating the Police Athletic League. “PAL, for decades, has been investing in young people, making sure that you all have high expectations, engaging activities and opportunities to contribute.”

The kids danced in the spraying water, a distraction from the sprinkling of real rain, while NYPD, PAL, and New York Police Foundation members shook hands, celebrating the unveiling of the second completed OPTIONS Center. The festivities included ice cream trucks, face painting stations, an inflatable obstacle course, a DJ, and a performance from the police drumline.

The PAL center in Harlem, which has been there for over 30 years, focuses on educating local youth. “Everything ranging from traditional sports to art to workforce development and college and career services,” says Chief Executive Officer of PAL Carlos Velazquez.

PAL was founded 114 years ago on the Lower East Side by past police commissioner Arthur Woods with the mission of creating safe spaces for young people to interact with local law enforcement and connect with their community. There are programs at each center tailored for elementary, middle school, high school students, and beyond.

Although there are 30 PAL centers in the city, this two-year project is only the second OPTIONS center to be integrated, with a third in the process. “This is one of many,” Velazquez promises. “We are deeply committed, along with the police foundation, to recreate this throughout the city and all our community centers.”

Community members in the OPTIONS Center learn about public service and leadership. “It's focused on giving young people options, everywhere from STEM education to virtual reality, social and emotional learning.” Velazquez continued, “They’re doing scenario-based work to really foster the relationship between law enforcement and our young people.”

Gregg Roberts, Executive Director of NYCPF, takes great pride in this program. “This is the best community program I’ve seen; we started OPTIONS in 2018,” says Roberts. “Using virtual reality to do scenario-based training about cyber bullying, guns, violence, relationships, and those dialogues are at the heart of OPTIONS,” he continued.

These practices, Roberts shared, are designed to teach children and police alike proper decision-making and emotional intelligence. The VR programs are used to offer the opposite perspective during tense scenarios such as traffic stops. “Young people learn to take responsibility for their quality of life,” Roberts said.

“Young people, when they’re working with the police, are not involved with crime,” says Roberts. “When they come to a center like this, they’re off the streets; they’re in a safe place.”

NYCPF’s work with OPTIONS also connects the youth with career-building opportunities through their corporate partners.

The partnership between NYCPF and PAL has provided both parties with hope that their efforts will be sustained as kids in the community graduate from the program “becoming ambassadors, teaching other young people and getting paid to do that,” Roberts added.

Velazquez hopes that the youth at this event will spread the word about their center and expand their outreach. He shared that other centers in the city see as many as 1,000 kids a year. “We pride ourselves on making sure that our staff is from our community.”