Resurfaced Fort Greene Park Tennis Courts Re-open; Players Donate to Future Projects
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The Fort Greene Park Tennis Courts re-opened on Sunday afternoon following a month-long resurfacing project, attracting 44 tennis players for the first fundraising groundstroke tournament of the season.
“Everyone was thrilled,” said Michael Brownstein, the president of the Fort Greene Tennis Association, the group that spearheaded the project to fill in cracks and fissures on the courts that gradually developed over the past 19 years. “The courts looked beautiful and they played really well.”
Players in attendance donated a total of $1,005 to the Fort Greene Tennis Association, an amount that was matched by the Fort Greene Tennis Ladder. The total of $2,010 will be used for future repair projects at the courts, Brownstein said.
These projects include trimming overgrown trees that are hanging over the courts, a project that is expected to cost $4,000 and will probably begin this summer, according to Brownstein. He is hoping, though, that the Department of Parks and Recreation will take on that project.
“There is still some hope that maybe the parks department will come and prune,” Brownstein said. “They were going to do it as of last summer, but city arborists are so behind because of the hurricane.”
James Russell, 29, who plays at the courts almost every day, is very pleased with the resurfaced courts.
“The courts are proper USTA quality,” he said. “There is more grit on the courts now, and more quality. It looks a lot nicer.”
Still, he would like to see more improvements at the courts, including the addition of windscreens and seats on the side.
Brownstein also hopes future fundraising will help buy more improvements, including the building of a maintenance shed to store tools for the tennis courts, as well as future court cleaning and repainting efforts. Brownstein does not have an exact timeline or cost estimate for these projects.
Two events are coming up at the newly resurfaced courts: A friendly match against the Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association on July 13 and the association’s annual singles tournament, which will be held the weekends of July 20 and 27. Check The Nabe for the exact event times when they are established in early July.
