Asburys PAL fitness center nearly complete

ASBURY PARK The new city Police Athletic League boxing and fitness center is nearly complete on the second floor of the city public works department on Main Street, with one of the final construction items, an elevator, set to be installed Wednesday. James Famularo, the city"s director of recreation, said he expects young people to be in the new facility by March. "The goal is to have it for boxing, karate, health and fitness for youth," Famularo said. "It"s PAL and the city working together." The $230,000 project was made possible in part by a $96,000 grant from Interfaith Neighbors, the Asbury Park nonprofit leading efforts to rebuild the city"s west side. Most of the remaining money came from the $2 million beachfront developer Asbury Partners has so far deposited for affordable housing or community projects. Carl Simms, the volunteer boxing coach now running a limited program without a gym in town, said he expects to see 30 young people come out once the gym is up and running. A current standout, Simms said, is 15-year-old Allen Taylor of the city, who in October became the 2009 state Diamond Glove champion. "The more programs and activities you have in a community for kids, the better it is for those kids," Simms said. "Pop Warner, Little League, all these activities are vehicles to teach kids discipline. Sports like boxing teach kids confidence and self-esteem. We"re building character. Famularo said the city renovated 2,300 square feet of second-floor space into a center that includes the main boxing and fitness areas, changing rooms, bathrooms, an office, closets and the elevator. Still to to be finished is rubberized floors; mirrors on walls; the boxing ring itself, to be paid for with $4,000 raised by the Asbury Park Rotary club; and fitness equipment, Famularo said. Patrick Durkin, director of Interfaith Neighbors" real estate development, said the money donated for the boxing gym came from the first $1 million of a 10-year plan to help rebuild the west side. The five companies that invested that first $1 million through the state"s Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program are New Jersey Natural Gas, Jersey Central Power Light, Selective Insurance, PNC Bank, and Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shields.

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