Find out what changes have begun at the Five Towns Community Center here

Change has begun at the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence, as its executive director, K. Brent Hill, has resigned after three and a half years of leading the 116-year-old institution, Hill’s last day is Friday.

His resignation comes amid uncertainty about the center’s future, after Nassau County, apparently planning to take the facility in a different direction, issued a request for proposal in January seeking people or entities to provide youth-oriented activities and services there.

“I moved out of state,” Hill said, who relocated to Connecticut near Danbury a few months. “Otherwise I would still be here fighting the fight with everyone else, but I’m no longer living in the community.”

The community center building and property, at 270 Lawrence Ave., are owned by Nassau County, which has leased the site to the center since 1974. It was not offered a renewal.

County Legislator Carriè Solages, who represents the area, said he believed there was more to Hill’s resignation than simply a desire to move.

“In my opinion, it is a forced resignation, because of the lack of support from the board and also from the county administration,” Solages said. “Based on information and belief, the board is being influenced by outside actors to make these decisions.”

“By no means did we force him out,” board President Gwynn Campbell said. “That is untrue. We really adore him.”

Solages has been an advocate for the community center as a legislator and as a board member for the Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County, which offers a Head Start program at the center. “Mr. Hill saved countless lives in our community and during the pandemic by providing personal protective equipment and making access available to the vaccines,” Solages said. “He has gone above and beyond … and it’s a shame that Nassau County, and specifically the Inwood-Lawrence community, are losing a good man.”

County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in March he would appoint a committee to review proposals submitted in response to the county’s request, and make a recommendation about the center’s future occupants.

The Lawrence school district and the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC responded to the RFP, with the Gural JCC proposing to partner with the existing center.

The center’s board of directors, Hill said, has tried reaching out to the county, but doesn’t know the status of the committee’s work if one was formed, which puts the center at a disadvantage, he said.

As of press time, Alyssa Lark, assistant of Blakeman, did not respond to request for comment on whether the committee was formed and if so, had reached a decision.

“We have several federal and state contracts and multi-year contracts that need to know whether we will be physically in this building or another space,” Hill said. “It would be helpful if we can get some information sooner rather than later, and they’ve not been responsive at this point.”

Solages compared the potential change of management at the center to changes in the Lawrence school district.

“This is the same systematic practice and pattern that we see in the Lawrence school district is depriving Latino children from a quality education,” he said. “There’s a systematic effort to gentrify the Five Towns, and it’s no coincidence that they have achieved this through a racist redistricting map to remove the minority legislator for the area.”

After the county issued the RFP, community center volunteers and neighbors voiced their support for the facility. They gathered at a protest in January, and there were community meetings, which Hill attended.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity to be able to live, work and advocate for the community,” he said. “I’m going to stay in touch with the board of directors and offer any support that I can with the challenge of continuing services in light of the uncertainty in the building.”

Have an opinion on who should operate the Five Towns Community Center? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.