Alief Neighborhood Center opens doors to hundreds of community members

For Rican McGusty, aka DJ Big Reeks, spinning 1st and 2nd at the Alief Neighborhood Center Open House Saturday is a full-circle moment.

“I’ve been here since I was 2 or 3 years old,” McGusty said. “To be a part of this is just a great moment for me.”

Hundreds of Houstonians attended the City of Houston Open House event and surrounded the center at 11903 Bellaire as school bands, McGusty and a mariachi provided musical entertainment.

“Alief is a small little town,” said LaJuan Robinson, a 45-year-old Alief native and current resident. “We’re known and we’re very proud of who we are and what we stand for. This is something great, not just to look at, but great for the city itself. We have something of our own.”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner cuts the ribbon as part of the groundbreaking ceremony for the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer

The city has about 42,000 residents — about 17 percent are white, 20 percent are Asian, 28 percent are black and 30 percent are Hispanic.

Born in West Palm Beach, Fla., McGusty moved to Alief in the late ’70s and remembers playing basketball in what many in the neighborhood called “old Quillian,” now home to the Alief Neighborhood Center.

“I feel like we just had a little watering hole,” McGusty said.

The newly built neighborhood center is 70,000 square meters and sits on an urban area of ​​37 hectares. The center features a skate park, outdoor pool, athletic fields, and sports fields for soccer, baseball, and softball.

“I wish my parents could bring me here every day,” McGusty said.

The center is also home to the Houston Public Library, the David M. Henington-Alief Regional Library; the Houston Health Department’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinic, as well as the free diabetes center and senior services.

“Anyone can come here and get some kind of benefit from this center,” McGusty said.

Children play in the new Alien Community Center playground during the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Safe Han Staff Photo for Kids

Reginald and Troy Thomas, relatives of District F Council Member Tiffany Thomas, described the center as a “safe haven.”

“For us growing up as kids, we knew we could always come to Quillian because it was a fun and safe place to hang out,” said Troy Thomas, Tiffany Thomas’ brother.

McGusty remembers having to watch his back and worry about his belongings being stolen at the parks he frequented in the past, so he’s glad kids these days will have a safe place to go the lights will be on at night.

To continue helping neighborhood kids, McGusty plans to teach an after-school DJ class at the center.

“I’m trying to teach vinyl education,” he said. “This is my pitch to give back to the community. I’m trying to push this vinyl to people so they can have a better experience with music and have something tangible to hold in their hands.”

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1 in 12 people gather during the opening of the Alief Community Center on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Alief Community Center in Houston.Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Show moreShow less 3of12Perform for the O’Donnell Middle School Cheer Team performs at the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston.Raquel NatalicchioShowS More Less 4of12Abby Rotenberg, 43, plays with Addie Rojas, 7, in the new Alien Community Center playground during the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 5of12 Children play in the new Alief Community Center playground during the opening of the Alief Community Center on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show more Show less 6 of 12 Hannah Franklin, 16, Moriah Franklin, 15, and Chloe Walker, 16, check out the new Alien Community Center playground during the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday , January 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. “We can’t wait to have a picnic here. We are thrilled to have a place to come together,” says Chloe Walker. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show more Show less 7of12Art Installation on display at the opening of the Alien Community Center on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Alief Community Center in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show more Show less 8 of 12Ricani McGusty trains regularly at the Zhongyue Shaolin Temple on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Houston. 13, 2023 in Houston.Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Show more Show less 10 of 12 Rickani McGusty drives through his Alief neighborhood on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Houston. “This neighborhood has changed a lot in such a short time. Once there was nothing but trees and open land, now there is a whole growing community. I want people to know that Alief has a lot to offer.” Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 11 of 12 Rickani McGusty eats regularly at Sandras Salvadorian Food, a restaurant that has been in Alief’s community for more than a decade on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photographer Show more Show less 12 of 12 Rickani McGusty eats regularly at Sandra’s Salvadorian food restaurant that has been in the Alief neighborhood for more than a decade on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 in Houston.Raquel Natalicchio/Photographer of staff Show more Show less “The whole family here”

Diversity is something Alief is full of, and it’s something the community values.

“When you come to Alief, you know you’re always going to have a family here,” said Reginald Thomas, Tiffany Thomas’ cousin. “No matter what race you are or what faith, religion and background you come from, we are all family here.”

There are few places as diverse as Alief, said McGusty, who studies Buddhism at a temple down the street from the center.

“I grew up around a lot of different kinds of cultures,” he said. “I’ve learned so much from so many different people.”

Alief’s people are what make the neighborhood a community, and while the center is a promising sign for the future, it’s also a little scary because of potential gentrification.

Rican McGusty trains regularly at the Zhongyue Shaolin Temple on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 in Houston.Raquel Natalicchio/Staff Photo

“It’s always good to be able to have money in the neighborhood, but what you don’t want to happen is to drive away the people who made the neighborhood what it is,” McGusty said. “It’s happened in a few places in Houston. I hope it won’t happen here.”

McGusty said he hopes Alief remains “community driven” and that the people who helped create the neighborhood will be able to continue living in it.

“We can still build wealth and maintain who we are,” he said. “I hope this is the start of better roads, better businesses and better buildings in the surrounding areas and throughout Alief.”