A Walk in the Park: Matthew S. Washington

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Controversial Randall's Island Tennis Concession Looking to Expand

Players enjoy court time at swanky tennis center at Randalls Island Park.

Players enjoy court time at fancy tennis center at Randalls Island Park. (Photo: Craig Warga/New York Daily News)

The Sportime Tennis facility on Randall's Island is looking to add nine courts to its existing 20 as part of a $ 5 million to $ 7 million proposed expansion. Although located only a few hundred yards from the South Bronx, the facility charges exorbitant fees. Critics of the pay-to-play concession have long complained they are being allowed to operate a private business on what is supposed to be public parkland at the exclusion of the public.

Sportime charges between $72 to $105 per hour for indoor courts, on top of fees of $500-750 to join, in addition to monthly dues as high as $ 286 for a family. (They have more than 2,000 members) Tennis lessons run as high as $ 5,950 for one hour lessons for 34 weeks. One camp charges $ 500 a day for non-members (transportation and food is extra).

Players at the John McEnroe Academy pay between $3,600 to $4,800 for 34 weeks of two-hour lessons, according to an Associated Press article last year.

Sportime members also get discounted court time and the right to book courts before nonmembers and enjoy access to "members only" locker rooms with steam baths and a massage therapist.

The enormous 160,000 sq. ft., $ 19 million dollar project - spearheaded by the Randall's Island Sport Foundation (RISF), Michael Bloomberg is a long-time board member - avoided ULURP which is required for a “new building of more than 15,000 square feet ... located on park land.”

Sportime advertised a "20 thousand Sq. feet of club house and support facilities include a performance-training center, comfortable lounge areas providing fill viewing into all the courts, full-service locker rooms for adults and juniors, a pro-shop, a bar/cafe, class rooms and more."

"The new facility will also feature a unique and intimate 4,000 seat tennis stadium, specifically designed to house SPORTIME"S World Team Tennis franchise, The NY Sportimes," a Sportime poster read.

Officials have repeatedly claimed that Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) was not required because a facility already existed at this location. This is inaccurate. The current facility does not occupy a single inch of a former tennis facility's foot print. A much smaller tennis facility was in a different location.

Sportime also got a great deal on the electric bill. According to the license agreement between Island Tennis, L.P. d/b/a Sportime, the RISF, and the City, the "Licensee's sole responsibility

with respect to electric costs shall be $ 655 per month."

Long-time Bloomberg friend Elizabeth Smith - head of DPR Revenue and Marketing - head of Sportime, Claude Okin, and RISF's head Aimee Boden signed the amended October 13, 2007 agreement.

Adding to the controversy, tennis concession fees - expected to be $ 1 million dollars this year alone - are being diverted from the city general funds to the Randall's Island Sport Foundation under a December 31, 2001 agreement with the city. RISF collected approx. $750,000 last year.

RISF is expect to pocket an additional $ 400,000- $ 500,000 annually if the project is approved according to Sportime. - Geoffrey Croft

The $ 5 to $ 7 million dollar proposal seeks to add nine additional courts in this parking lot located directly across the street. The enormous new tennis facility which had NOT previously existed at this location was allowed to be built last year avoided going through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Officials have repeatedly claimed that ULURP was not required because a facility already existed at this location. This is inaccurate. Ironically the proposal to build these new courts will go through the review process. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Randall's Island

Park and community advocates are raising a racket over the continued privatization of public parkland on Randalls Island, according to the New York Daily News.

The private company that runs a swanky tennis center at Randalls Island Park has announced plans to expand the facility at no cost to taxpayers.

But advocates claim poor players from the South Bronx and East Harlem won’t benefit, because the center operates like a high-priced club, with members shelling out thousands of dollars for lessons and perks.

“The public is losing access to Randalls Island inch by inch and year by year,” said Marina Ortiz of East Harlem Preservation, who in 2009 helped defeat a $50 million deal between the city and private schools for field time at the park.

(Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Built and paid for by Sportime, a company with clubs in the Hamptons, the $18 million tennis center opened in 2009 and boasts 20 indoor and outdoor courts, a cafe and a tennis academy run by pro legend John McEnroe.

Sportime now wants to build nine more courts, a $5 million to $7 million project, said spokesman Ben Schlansky. It pays a percentage of its revenue to the Randalls Island Sports Foundation, the nonprofit that manages the park, but none directly to the city.

The new courts would generate an additional $400,000 to $500,000 per year for the park and “allow Sportime to offer additional adult and youth programs,” said Schlansky, adding that Sportime plans to build on an existing parking lot.

Sportime has vowed to renovate surrounding property as part of the project and Schlansky said four of the nine new courts would be reserved for the public from May to October.

But the tennis players who live nearest to Randalls Island will be shut out from the rest of the courts, said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates.

Courts rent for $72 to $105 per hour for non-members, more than most Bronx and Harlem players can afford. Sportime members pay $500 to $700 to join plus monthly dues. “The city is giving away public parkland for private business,” said Croft.

The existing facility was never approved by Community Board 11 in East Harlem but the expansion proposal will undergo the official land use review process. Board 11 will hold a public hearing for December or January, said Matthew Washington, chairman.

He said Board 11 will likely demand more scholarships for East Harlem youngsters.

“Tennis is often seen as an exclusive activity,” he said, noting that Sportime’s license agreement with the city is also under review. “We want to make sure the facility is accessible to everyone.”

Sportime has already provided “hundreds of hours” of free tennis to poor, “under-resourced” children and doled out $300,000 in financial aid, Schlansky said. It reserves 50% of outdoor court time for the general public.

But Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem) called the privatization of Randalls Island “a concern.”

Sportime plans $7 million project on parkland

New York Daily News - November 8 2011 - By Daniel Beekman

Plan To Expand Randall's Island Tennis Courts May Bubble Over

NY 1 - November 8, 2011 - By Rebecca Spitz

Randall's Island Tennis Court Expansion Worries Advocates

DNAinfo - November 7, 2011 - By Jeff Mays

Private Tennis Club Operating On Randall's Island - Critics Charge

A Walk In The Park - January 26, 2011

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Judge Rips City/Parks Department Over Randall's Island Pay-To-Play Concession Deal - Lack Of Environmental Review

Tree Destruction - Randall's Island, July 31, 2007. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) As part of the Randall's Island Sports Foundation master plan thousands of trees were destroyed on the island to

make way for athletic fields. At over 200 acres this project represents the largest park reconstruction job in the City's modern history yet it has managed to escape all proper environmental and public reviews. On Tuesday a Supreme Court Judge ruled that the City violated the City Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and cancelled the pay-to play concession agreement with twenty private schools and ordered the City to undergo a ULURP review.

(December 22, 2009 - New York) Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Shafer found that the City respondents violated the City Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) in entering a concession with twenty private schools for the exclusive after-school use of newly constructed ball fields on Randall's Island. The case involves the Randall's Island Sports Fields Development Project as part of the larger Randall's Island redevelopment plan. The court vacated the concession and ordered the City to undergo such ULURP review. In addition, the court vacated the Negative Declaration issued under the State's Environmental Quality Review Act, finding that the City did not consider the increased "intensity of use" of the Randall's Island Park nor the cumulative impacts of the different parts of the redevelopment plan in its environmental review. Finally, the court found that the petitioners were entitled to reasonable attorneys fees.

"I am thrilled about the decision, which will hopefully allow the East Harlem community more direct input on the future development and preservation of Randall’s Island. I am also deeply appreciative of the all the hard work and dedication provided by our legal team and my fellow advocates to ensure that justice was served once again, said plaintiff Marina Ortiz, founder of East Harlem Preservation.

"Our public parks must be protected from these pay-to-play schemes. It is the city's responsibility to allocate proper funding to maintain our public parks instead of relying on wealthy benefactors. Major land use decisions must go through the proper environmental reviews and clearly this massive project did not," said plaintiff Geoffrey Croft.

This case has always been about public school kids’ access to athletic fields on Randall’s Island. They were shut out of this process until parents on the Citywide Council on High Schools joined with other community members to assert our rights. We now need the city's support and cooperation to give our kids what they deserved all along. We thank our co-plaintiffs and our attorneys for this great victory," said David Bloomfield, former President Citywide Council on High Schools (at the time initial litigation was undertaken)

“The general public should always have a say in what happens with public land and the court showed once again that it agrees,” said Matthew S. Washington, CB11 Chair-elect, and one of the original plaintiffs.

“This is a great day for the public school students of East Harlem. Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, we prevailed and now our children will have a chance to have their fair share of these sports fields, which are so desperately needed. Given this opportunity, perhaps they will go on to be future athletes, even Olympians,” said Eugenia Simmons-Taylor, former head of the Presidents council in District 4, East Harlem and one of the original plaintiffs.

“The extreme disproportion between the twenty 20 elite private schools that would receive exclusive access to the majority of these fields, compared to the minimal use afforded the city’s 1400 public schools spurred us to become involved in this case. The city and the Parks Department need to learn a lesson: You are subject to the law like everyone else. Hopefully, the era of Emperor Bloomberg is over, and the East Harlem community and the City Council will now have a real chance to weigh in on whether this deal is in the public’s benefit or not," said Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters and one of the original organizers.

"Its a major win. The decision sends a strong message to the Bloomberg administration that the rule of law applies to the City. Moreover when the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Law is violated the courts will hold the City accountable," said lawyer Norman Siegel, who provided legal services on behalf of the petitioners in the case.

"We are pleased that the affected communities and public schools will now have the benefit of the required review processes which are designed to provide public participation in government decision-making. Further, this decision should assure equal access of public schools and communities to the fields in Randall's Island Park," said E. Gail Suchman from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, which provided legal services on behalf of the petitioners in the case.

"We are thrilled that Justice Shafer has denied efforts to avoid open, democratic decision-making over such a valuable shared resource as public park space. We hope that her decision provides the impetus for a process that ensures that all members of the public, particularly residents of East Harlem and the South Bronx, have a meaningful voice in decisions about how Randall's Island will be used and by whom," said Gavin Kearney, a lawyer with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest which also provided legal services on behalf of the petitioners in the case.

“I am happy to learn that the court has validated what we knew all along, that this concession required the ULURP process. This decision represents a significant victory for the community and advocates who have engaged in long standing efforts to preserve open, public space on Randall’s Island. I will continue to monitor the developments of this case to ensure that the community gets the maximum benefit out of further negotiations on this matter," said City Council member Melissa Mark Viverito who represents the area.