Residents living at a local housing complex are looking to stop teen crime by opening up after school programming at the Monroe Houses Community Center, but they are having trouble getting funded.

Tenants at the Monroe Houses says the community center has valuable space that nobody is using that could be a space for kids' programs. They say The Monroe Houses Community Center already has a day care and senior center, but nothing for kids.

Local leaders, such as the borough presidents and Sen. Ruben Diaz, say they are contributing $1 million to physically expand the building, but they need additional funding from the city for the programming. They say they also need funding to purchase additional security cameras for the housing units.

The New York City Housing Authority told News 12 that it is exploring the possibility of reopening the center if it can identify funding and a community-based organization to operate it.

Local leaders say they will be meeting with the NYCHA in a few weeks to pitch the idea in hope of getting the funding they say they desperately need to stop violent crimes.