"Brooklyn Nets... Open New Playground in Brooklyn" (by redistributing charitable funds)

The Nets are helping, but how much?

Brooklyn Nets and The Trust for Public Land Open New Playground in Brooklyn reported New York Sports Day 5/23/19:

Today, The Trust for Public Land hosted the grand opening for a new student-designed community playground at M.S. 354 The School of Integrated Learning, KIPP AMP Academy Middle School, and KIPP AMP Elementary Schools in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The ceremony included an official ribbon cutting and opening remarks from guests including Brett Yormark, Chief Executive Officer of BSE Global, which manages and controls the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, New York State Assembly Member, Tremaine Wright, and Leslie Wright from New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, among others.
Following the ribbon cutting, there were student dance and band performances, a meet and greet with the Brooklynettes Dance Team, and the Brooklyn Nets Basketball Academy hosted a free clinic for the children in attendance, in addition to leaving behind custom branded basketballs. The Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center donated a portion of proceeds raised from their annual Barclays Center Cares gala to help support this project.
“We’re proud to partner with the Trust for Public Land and Governor Cuomo’s ‘Vital Brooklyn’ initiative to help young students’ creative park designs become a reality,” said Yormark. “It has always been a priority of ours to positively impact our surrounding community, and we hope this playground will motivate local residents to stay active, and provide a safe place for them to have fun.”
The Crown Heights playground was built in collaboration with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Vital Brooklyn” initiative, which will transform 8 playgrounds, 22 community gardens, and 4 recreation centers in central Brooklyn by 2020. The “Vital Brooklyn” initiative targets some of the most disadvantaged areas in New York State, recognizing the critical need for green space in a city where 73 percent of low-income neighborhoods fail to meet the city’s standard of 2.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.

(Emphasis added)

In other words, BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and the arena operating company, didn't necessarily spend its own money but redistributed funds it raised from its charitable arm, Barclays Center Cares, at its annual gala.

The official press release

Let's go to the 5/23/19 gubernatorial press release, Governor Cuomo Announces Opening of Vital Brooklyn Community Playground in Crown Heights (essentially republished in Kings County Politics):

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the grand opening of the new student-designed M.S. 354 The School of Integrated Learning, KIPP AMP Academy Middle School, and KIPP AMP Elementary Schools community playground in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The $2 million playground is part of Governor Cuomo's "Vital Brooklyn" initiative, a community development program bringing necessary resources to underserved neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn, and will provide 32,825 Crown Heights residents with green space within a 10-minute walk from home.
...Governor Andrew Cuomo's "Vital Brooklyn" initiative, launched in 2017, targets some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York State, including Bushwick, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Canarsie, East New York, East Flatbush, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills/Ocean Hill, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Focusing on these Central Brooklyn communities, the initiative addresses a critical need for green space in a city where 73 percent of low-income neighborhoods fail to meet the city's standard of 2.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.
..."We're proud to partner with the Trust for Public Land and Governor Cuomo's "Vital Brooklyn" initiative to help young students' creative park designs become a reality," said Brett Yormark, Chief Executive Officer of BSE Global, which manages and controls the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. "It has always been a priority of ours to positively impact our surrounding community, and we hope this playground will motivate local residents to stay active, and provide a safe place for them to have fun.

That doesn't offer much detail, either.

Whenever I see articles and press releases like that, I always wonder: how much did BSE Global contribute out of the $2 million? The press release was silent, and the Trust for Public Land didn't respond to a query.

My guess is that the NY Sports Day headline overemphasized the Nets' role. I'm extrapolating from a 2011 headline like "Nets bring new playground to Canarsie school," when they actually paid one-eighth of the cost.