Williamsburg "hipsters" Forced To Repair Tennis Courts: A Brooklyn Trend?

McCarren Park Tennis Courts - Before and After. (Photos: www.mccarrentennis.org/Juliet Papa) With increasing regularity the City is forcing its citizens to raise funds if they want basic, safe, park services. And for some reason some communities are doing it.  In February, news began to surface that tennis players in Ft. Green Park were also raising private funds to repair the deplorable conditions of another Parks Department facility.   BROOKLYN

Tennis players in Brooklyn weren't feeling the love from the Parks Department, so they took it upon themselves to fix their favorite playing surface, according to 1010 WINS. Frustrated that the $100 permit fee imposed on all tennis players by the Parks Department wasn't being used toward the courts, a group of seven players at McCarren Park in Williamsburg organized themselves, threw two fund-raising tournaments and used the cash to resurface a court last weekend.  Williamsburg "hipsters" and the Polish community banded together and voilà! Read More: Tennis Anyone? Players Raise Money to Repair Williamsburg Court 1010 WINS - May 13, 2010

City Forces The Public To Raise Funds to Fix Dangerious Ft. Green Park Tennis Courts

A Walk In The Park -  February 25, 2010

City Forces The Public To Raise Funds to Fix Dangerious Ft. Green Park Tennis Courts

The Brooklyn Paper's Meadows of Shame was created after the deplorable conditions found this past Summer in Prospect Park.

BROOKLYN

There’s nothing more frustrating than being in a Roger Federer-esque zone, only to have your baseline drive fail because of a bad bounce on a crack-filled court.

Ten tennis players who use the courts in Fort Greene Park certainly feel that way — and they held their first fundraiser last night to raise money to fix the problem, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

“There are tons of cracks in the court surfaces,” said Rich Rodriguez, one of the members of the just-founded Fort Greene Tennis Association, which raised money at the General Greene on Thursday night. “Some of them are almost an inch wide! Someone could easily trip and fall while playing.”

The alliance of pseudo-Samprases is shooting for $250,000 for a complete overhaul of the courts. Once that happens, the group hopes to coordinate tennis programs.

In addition to the surface repairs, the players want to remedy a drainage system that leaves puddles of water and piles of leaves on the courts.

Read More:

Tennis anyone? New group hopes to fix Fort Greene courts

THE BROOKLYN PAPER - February 25, 2010 - By  Stephen Brown