It’s been an amazing 2024 for the New York Liberty. They set attendance records in the regular season on their way to the number one seed. They managed to top their own record in the playoffs. And to top it off, they won their first WNBA Championship! The title ended a decades long New York basketball championship drought and brought generations of fans happiness and joy. For as much success as they’ve had on the court, their work off the court is just as important.
Since becoming the owner of the Liberty and Brooklyn Nets, Clara Wu Tsai has been active across Brooklyn. She and the Social Justice Fund have renovated parks, uplifted Black owned businesses, and supported non-profits across New York City. On October 30, she helped unveil a newly refurbished park in the East New York part of Brooklyn.
Following the event, Wu Tsai took some time to talk with The Local W. Here’s our conversation, which was lightly edited for clarity
The Local W: Fantastic outing, a lot of great turnout. What is it like to continue expanding in Brooklyn and providing more support to as many diverse communities as possible?
Clara Wu Tsai: It means everything to me because this is our fan base and as much as we can give back to this community, the better it is for our organization. But I love to support the community. It feels great and again, this is really where we’re going to start developing fans that will be us for generations to come.
TLW: One of the things I noticed, even going back to last year, is that you guys really tailor each park to the community’s uniqueness. How do you think with this park that you’re able to really make East New York feel as homely and lively as possible?
CWT: One thing I’m really proud of is the fact that our investment in that court was a catalyst to all of this. And so, it’s really incredible that when you invest in one place, it begets investment elsewhere. Not only were we able to transform this piece, but it allowed the city and the state to actually invest in the rest of this. And it’s really transformed the school in this neighborhood.
TLW: With State Senator Persaud and City Council Member Banks here, it feels like you guys have really been able to, as you work within the community, work with legislators as well to advocate and advancement communities. What do you think is the value of having good relationships with the local elected officials in the community, to really amplify your vision?
CWT: It’s really important, because we are going to continue to invest in this community. We’re going to continue to be investing more in facilities. We can’t do it alone. So the better relationships we have with our officials, the more efficient, faster we can work to invest more.
TLW: For Social Justice Fund looking ahead, what do you guys see next as far as your to-do list?
CWT: We’re interested in doing more public art. A lot of what we want to do is inspire hopes for a better future in the minds of children. So any way that we can inspire them to think about the possibility of what they could be are the things that we want to invest in. And that’s kind of a new path that we’re going to pursue, in addition to all the access to capital initiatives.
TLW: And last one from me, it’s been about a week and a half. Has the championship glow come down yet?
CWT: No, it gets better and better. But now, it’s reflection time and how is this going to impact the entire league, women in general, [and] girls playing sports. You start reflecting broader and broader, but overall, couldn’t be happier with the positive news because everyone knows New York needed some great positive news. And judging from the way the parade went, our championship really unified the community. And I really love that our players really got recognition for what they for what they accomplished.
