Renovated basketball courts named after community hero
On Halloween the community celebrated the recently renovated basketball courts at Cooper Park Houses’ Frost Playground. Not only did they celebrate regaining access to the courts, they showed up to celebrate its new name: Taurean Spears Basketball Courts and remembering the man it was named after.
During his lifetime, Spears was dedicated to lifting up and mentoring his community. He spent much of his time on the basketball courts inspiring all to focus their attention on the positive. Tragically, his life was cut short when, in his mid-thirties, he died of a heart attack on the basketball courts that now bear his name.
Local elected representatives, NYS Senator Julia Salazar, NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez joined community members to celebrate Spears’s life at the basketball court’s ribbon cutting.
“It’s official: Cooper Park Houses is now home to the Taurean Spears Basketball Courts. Taurean dedicated his life to the young people around him, offering friendship, mentorship, and a chance to simply have fun. On and off the court, Taurean’s legacy will live on forever,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso posted on Instagram
“This is where he had the most impact, this is where he inspired people, and if we could just remember that every single day. That living in our communities and struggling and maybe not having all the resources in the world doesn’t mean you can’t spark joy in people. That’s what Taurean did here for us,” said NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.
A memorial basketball tournament was started a year after his death takes place in May each year at the courts in Frost Street Playground.
The Greenline 