UPDATED
Collapsed Tennis Bubble - Prospect Park - December 31, 2010. Photos by Rob Jett. (Click on Images to enlarge)
A collapsed door from an entrance lies on the ground in the snow.
Collapsed Tennis Bubble - Randall's Island. December 29, 2010. Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates (Click on Images to enlarge)
Three tennis bubbles located in City parks collapsed under the weight of snow from the storm that blanked the area on Monday.
One bubble, housing five courts at the controversial $ 19 million dollar Sportime Randall's Island caved in. On Wednesday workers were seen removing snow by a small front-end loader and clearing away debris. Personnel were also seen reviewing blue prints of the bubbles.
The facility is home to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy for Elite players and is managed by John's brother Mark. The enormous project was ushered through by the Randall's Island Sports Foundation and bypassed ULURP and appropriate environmental reviews.
All indoor tennis in Prospect Park in Brooklyn were suspended after its two bubbles at the Prospect Park Tennis Center collapsed Monday.
"The Prospect Park Tennis Center is currently closed," a message on the Prospect Park Alliance tennis center voice mail says. "Both bubbles collapsed due to heavy snow. We are making a concerted effort to remove the snow and re-inflate the bubbles. We plan to be open on Sunday, January 2nd."
A message on the website stated: "The severe storm conditions caused the Tennis Center bubbles to come down. The Tennis Center may be closed for the week. Please check our website or give the Center a call at (718) 436 2500 for updates.
No one was hurt in the accidents.
The city's Parks Department said Tuesday it had inspected all tennis bubbles on its property and had found no other problems, according to the Associated Press via The Wall Street Journal.
January 2, 2011
By Saturday evening the bubble on Randall's Island had been put back up and a Sportstime employee said they hoped to have it operational by Tuesday. One of the two bubbles at Prospect Park was operational over the weekend and according to the Prospect Park Alliance they hoped to have the second one working later today - Geoffrey Croft
A collapsed door from an entrance lies on the ground in the snow on Randall's Island on Wednesday afternoon.
Another entrance.
Read More:
The Brooklyn Blog - New York Post - December By Rich Calder
1010 Wins - December 31, 2010
WOR - December 31, 2010
Am curious whether New York City Parks Department funds were used to remove/repair these privately owned materials. Were the "workers" involved government employees?
ReplyDeleteha! now that is an ace!
ReplyDeletewow! ice!
ReplyDelete