Renovations included a computer lab and lounge on the first floor, with new computers, workstations, new floors and painted walls, as well as a new library and studio on the second floor.
The Rangers, along with the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the Smilezone Foundation and Brightcore Energy, partnered with WHEDco to oversee the project.
"If you can come in and transform a place like this with paint and murals and new computers, it does something for the spirit," said former Rangers forward Adam Graves, a Garden of Dreams board member and a co-founder of Smilezone Foundation. "It puts a smile on the kids' faces and gives them an environment to succeed. At the end of the day, it's all about the kids. The mission is simple: to support kids and put a smile on kids' faces. It doesn't get any better than this."
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WHEDco's mission is to help residents of the South Bronx get access to necessary resources to create thriving neighborhoods through high-quality education and after-school programs.
"More than a learning space, it's been a safe haven," WHEDco president Davon Russell said. "It's where high school students who participate in our College Access program spend their afternoon, connecting with peers and mentors. It's where parents and grandparents who are learning English are defying the odds to become better advocates for themselves and their families."
Graves and former teammates Mike Richter and Pat LaFontaine were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Richter, the goaltender on New York's Stanley Cup-winning team in 1994, is the president of Brightcore Energy, which provided the lightning for the Leadership Center.