'Mind, Body and Soul': New Community Space Opens In Crown Heights

CROWN HEIGHTS, NY — A local nonprofit that has brought years of summer and after school fun to Brooklyn students has claimed a new space in Crown Heights where locals will find resources for body, mind and soul.

On March 20, TEiAM opened its first ever community center — where locals will find services as various as childcare, legal help and water aerobics — on Rogers Avenue and Sterling Place, co-founder Gabrielle Clarke said.

"It's like we are building a rec center in a boutique space," Clarke said. "We're going to make a big impact."

TEiAM began in 2019 as an after school program provider at P.S. 770 in East Flatbush and has since expanded to offer tutoring, athletics and summer camps. Since TEiAM's inception, Clarke and her TEiAM cofounder Carol Sheldrake committed to providing local students diverse and adventurous programs at an affordable cost.

"Everything should be accessible to everybody," Sheldrake said.

The permanent home means TEiAM can cater to the needs of Crown Heights adults and seniors whose needs Clarke and Sheldrake spent months discussing within the community.

For Clarke, opening in Crown Heights means returning home. The daughter of a Brooklyn municipal worker and hospital plumber, Clarke grew up in Crown Heights.

"It was very, very full circle for me," Clarke said. "I didn't expect to come back to the neighborhood for business."

Growing up a person of color in an immigrant family, accessing resources was a challenge for Clarke, she said. Nonetheless, Clarke's mother made significant efforts to expose her to different activities ranging from ballet to swimming to flamenco dancing.

"The resources just weren't there when we were growing up," Clarke said. "My mom was just very very resourceful, so that's how we were able to get certain resources and food and connections and access to a lot of things. My mom has the gift of gab, so to speak."

Sheldrake — a mother of three and an active child growing up — knows first-hand the importance of creating affordable and accessible spaces for children to go after school to explore, she said.

Sheldrake didn't always have the funds to give her kids the opportunities available at expensive summer camps, she said. But she still worked hard to have her kids come home "happy, tired and dirty," she said.

"There's a lot of kids who... don't have the opportunities that people with lots of money can give their kids," Sheldrake said. "I was one of those moms."

Programming

Memberships to the clubhouse cost $99 per month or $30 for drop-in passes to use facilities and participate in programming. Members have blanket access to the clubhouse, which includes workspaces, a backyard and a small workout area, and the pool at John Jay Educational Campus in Park Slope. Scholarships are available for clubhouse memberships, Sheldrake said.

In the spring, co-working spaces with wifi and quiet desks available between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. will enrich members' minds, while recreation opportunities like swimming and basketball will feed the body. Calm spaces with tea and aromatherapy will target the soul, Clarke said.

Programming will also include excursions out of the city and adult DIY courses, according to Clarke.

"All of our programing is to enrich someone's life, and it's tailored [to] the mind, body and soul," Clarke said. "It's a big ask, but we want to be able to get really close to perfecting that if we can."

Building A Community Space

Clarke hopes the space is a "home away from home" for Crown Heights and Prospect Heights residents.

"We want to enrich your life." Clarke said. "We want it to be a generational space, where everyone from different walks of life can come here, become a member with us... put in their feedback for us to create new programming and even host events so that we can have [that] communal feel."

Welcoming community centers are particularly important in the wake of COVID lockdowns as kids and adults learn to socialize again in a "new normal," Sheldrake said.

Just a week into business, TEiAM is a collaborative space made possible with community buy-in.

The property features bright murals painted by local artists and Clarke and Sheldrake leaned on their community relationships to quickly provide new programming, like offering members legal help. TEiAM also partners with a number of local schools and will schedule pop-up events with community organizations in the future.

Sheldrake, originally from England, has lived in Brooklyn for 28 years and finds Crown Heights to be a particularly welcoming community. At the clubhouse's opening, Sheldrake found herself "euphoric."

"People came out and did this and made this place so beautiful," Sheldrake said. "[I'm] in awe of how much love there is."

Clarke has found joy facilitating other kids' exposure to new activities, and is focused on expanding that mission to people of all ages.

"We all have inner children in us," Clarke said. "We just want to bring out the inner child in everyone."

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