Urban Air founders pledge $100K to cancer center

The founders of Urban Air Lake Grove have pledged to donate $100,000 to the Stony Brook University Cancer Center.

Dave Wolmetz and Keith Handler, who opened the indoor adventure park in Nov. 2019, will be giving the donation through their newly formed Why Not Us Foundation, which is designed to raise funds for Stony Brook’s work on developing cell therapy that treats blood cancers like leukemia.

Wometz, co-owner of Urban Air Lake Grove and a Stony Brook alumnus, received a stem cell transplant a year ago. He had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2018 and underwent total body radiation and chemotherapy treatment at the Stony Brook University Cancer Center. Wolmetz is currently in the management phase of his treatment and doing well.

“I’m inspired by the groundbreaking research at the Stony Brook University Cancer Center,” Wolmetz said in a written statement. “I’m grateful for the stem cell transplant and excellent care I have received at the facility. The Cancer Center is a well-established resource and essential to the community to focus on important cancer problems.”

Urban Air Lake Grove is a kid-focused play space inside a 48,000-square-foot indoor adventure park that features several aerial attractions. It’s located at 3147 Middle Country Road in Lake Grove.