Oftentimes, these courts, they're in rough shape.

There's courts where either there's no lines or where there's large gaps and cracks in the court's surface.

There can be huge dips that would be unsafe, hazardous to play on.

So seeing all these courts across the city inspired me to renovate public outdoor basketball courts and collaborate with artists to create unique works of art for the surface.

I pretty much played at this court my whole life.

It was a no-brainer for me.

Like, I jumped at the opportunity to be able to come down and help paint and give back to the community.

Lincoln Park is a special court for me because I actually used to play here when I was in school.

All my siblings grew up playing on this court, and so this court's been a long time coming.

The actual process of renovating the court typically takes about two weeks,

and usually they'll hire a local contracting crew to do any crack fill or patch repair.

And then after they've done that, we come in once the court has been resurfaced to get the artwork down and be ready for lines.

Since starting Project Backboard three and a half years ago, we worked on over two dozen courts around the world.

One of the most fun parts is working with community volunteers on the court painting.

You're gonna start at the tape line and we're gonna work our way backwards.

You know, the basketball court, for me, was always a place where you learned to be an engaged citizen.

It's where you met your neighbors and kind of got together for a common purpose.

And I think, too often, people think of basketball courts as a nuisance, when really it is a spot that can really bring people and communities together.

Before this, it was cracks all over the court, graffiti everywhere, definitely in bad shape.

Giving back to the community kind of speaks to me because this is my first time kind of being involved in a project like this,

and it definitely inspires other kids due to the fact that, you know, the younger generation always looks up to the older generation.

They see you giving back, it will inspire them to give back.

Being able to step on a new renovated court is pretty dope.

You know, it seems small, just a basketball court, but, you know, it's a lot more than that.

Everyone comes out.

People get off work.

Got people who don't even live in New Rochelle who come over here to watch the games, so definitely just the little things helps out a lot.

This didn't start as an art project.

It didn't start as a way to bring art into parks.

But I think I recognize that it's really important for me to inspire and help others do this in their own communities.

You know, I want people to feel like I can make a difference in my community.

Maybe I'm not painting an entire basketball court.

Maybe I'm just buying new nets and hanging them when they fall down.

Maybe I'm just picking up the trash.

You know, whatever it is, it's, if you care about your park, you care about your basketball court, take care of it.