Ny Bus outside
August 8th-9th
NY Bus pulled up to Basketball City for NYPD’s National Basketball Tournament and the Stapleton Houses Community Day in Staten Island.
Aug. 8: At the NYPD National Basketball Tournament, the bus drew players in as they stepped outside for food and fresh air. Tish and Ray, Hoopbus dunkers, threw down challenge dunks, daring anyone to match them. A crowd soon formed.
“Who’s got next?” players called out. One guy, wearing #11, stepped up and didn’t step off for the next 15 minutes. Dunk after dunk, he dominated every 1v1 match-up, leaving the Hoopbus squad impressed.
From the sideline, his teammates shook their heads, laughing: “Why doesn’t he play like this in the game?”
#11 took a quick break from tournament play to put on a show at the bus.
Aug. 9: The bus pulled into Maggie Howard Playground around noon. Chicken was smoking on the grill, and music played from speakers on the lawn lined with tents around the perimeter of the park.
The kids started rolling in and the fun began.
Three young girls were the first to grab a ball. The hoop towered over them, twice their height, but one girl zeroed in on the free-throw line. People encouraged her to step closer, but she stayed put, determined to sink the shot. Her first attempts fell short, but she kept coming back throughout the day, each time with us rebounding and cheering her on.
Hours later she threw her hands up in victory as she sunk the shot. Her two friends wide-eyed, now certain they could make that shot too.
Carson, a five-year-old wearing jean cut offs and high dunks rolled up on his bike shy at first. He didn’t say much and was watching the action. Not much later he was on the mic with Gio calling out his mom and saying he “loved everyone.”
Carson and his brother riding around on their bike.
A great day in Staten Island with the Stapleton community!
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! It was an amazing event. The kids were happy. I am so grateful that you guys were able to come out and make a difference, I can’t stop saying how amazing it was!”
Genera Burks, known to the Hoopbus crew as “Ms. G,” pours her heart into the Stapleton community every day, always putting the youth first. She brought this event to life, creating a day the community will never forget.