Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura today announced the reopening of Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center in Rego Park, Queens, following a $25.9 million, top-to-bottom reconstruction that brings this historic neighborhood center into the 21st century.
The project delivers a more accessible and modern recreation center for Queens families, with a redesigned entrance and lobby, refurbished fitness spaces, updated restrooms, a newly painted basketball court, new equipment and upgraded safety and building systems.
"Every New Yorker should feel proud of their public spaces. Today, we're reopening Lost Battalion Hall just in time for the weather to cool down and New Yorkers to head indoors to continue playing their favorite sports all winter long," said Mayor Mamdani. "With new equipment, accessibility improvements and safety upgrades, Lost Battalion Hall will be even more welcoming to New Yorkers. Whether you're here to shoot hoops, work out or hang out, this is your recreation center."
"For years, Lost Battalion Hall has been the place where Queens families come to work out, shoot hoops and spend time with their neighbors, and we couldn't be happier to welcome everyone back," said Parks Commissioner Shimamura. "This project improved just about every corner of the building. It's safer, easier to get around and more comfortable no matter the season. We're grateful to the Mayor's Office, the Borough President and the City Council for investing in this center, and to the community for their patience while the work got done."
A Queens institution, renewed
Lost Battalion Hall is deeply woven into the history of Queens history and culture. In the 1960s, the New York Knicks used the recreation center as an auxiliary practice facility. Over the decades, it has nurtured generations of local basketball talent, including Queens native and former NBA player Kenny "The Jet" Smith.
The building is also home to one of the last surviving Works Progress Administration murals on Parks property. The mural celebrates the building's origins as a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall and remains a reminder of the center's long history of serving the community.
