In February 1975, the KHCC Board "sat amid the wreckage of the building, well-ventilated by the newly broken windows, and wondered, where do we go from here?" The fledging group had just moved into the former 50th Precinct Headquarters, but the facility had been neglected for months. This building was the impetus for creating the Center, and it now seems unusable. But the founders were not deterred. They had a clear vision of where they wanted to go and didn't know that what they were trying to do was impossible.

Two years earlier, the New York City Police Department had announced the move of the 50th Precinct from its outdated 1901 building on Kingsbridge Terrace to a new and modern facility. Community residents were worried that the vacant building would attract vandalism and begin the area's decay. Three of these residents were Mary McLoughlin, Janet Athanasidy, and Patricia Burns, all homemakers who quickly became passionate community organizers. Their children played in the neighborhood's parks, as Kingsbridge Heights had no recreation facility. The three became determined to establish a community center in the vacant station house.