PATERSON, N.J. - Not many can match Lajay Johnson's prowess in ping pong.
It's just one of the many reasons the Kennedy High School student's life has changed inside the walls of Paterson's newly improved Great Falls Youth Center.
"I feel like it's very important," said Johnson. "A lot of kids, after school hours they just roam Paterson, that's why things get pretty bad around here. So I feel like a place for kids to be kids and learn is going to be beneficial."
On Tuesday, the City and the New Jersey Community Development Corporation unveiled the expanded youth center, which now has an entirely new building with a lounge and a loft with a podcast studio. Across the parking lot, the original building now has a brand-new kitchen and rooftop deck for activities.
All of this was largely made possible by Marilyn Clark, a philanthropist whose generosity has improved playgrounds, ball fields, and much more in the city.
"No matter what it is that you give, it is so much better to give than receive," said Clark.
"I feel like it's a really great place to come after school and chill and relax," said Paterson Arts and Science Charter School student D'Asia Curry. "You can do your homework, you can chat."
The center can serve double the amount of kids as before, something that brings Curry joy.
"It gets better," said Curry. "It gets better."
That is her motto; being a teen can be hard, after all. But it's a message all of us can use.
"If you're ever depressed or you have a lot of stress on you, just breathe, and just remember it gets better," said Curry.
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