About HTC

HTC Crisis

HTC FAQs

HTC Photos

HTC
Slide Show

Local Tennis
Groups

Local Tennis
Events
      2007
      2006
      2005
      2004
      2003
      2002

Local
Community
Services

HTC
Site Map

Friends of
Harlem
Tennis

Friends of Harlem Tennis Center

Where is the Harlem Tennis Center (HTC) located?

The HTC is located in Manhattan (NY, NY). Access to the HTC is via the side door of the 369th Regiment Armory at 40 West 143rd St. (between Fifth & Lenox avenues). The tennis courts are on what is called the "Drill Shed floor" of the Armory.

Return to the Top

Who holds the lease?

I've heard that the PAL has plans to take over the Armory and already has the lease. Isn't it a done deal?

No, rumors to that effect have been circulating for over two years now, but as of 09/10/02, the DMNA (grantor of the lease at the Armory) has stated that no lease for the upcoming season(s) has yet been signed.

Return to the Top

Who was the prior leaseholder?

First there was Nick's Indoor Tennis in the 1950's, followed by Bill's Indoor Tennis (later to become known as Bill's Fifth Avenue Tennis), under the direction of the late Bill Brown and later Claude Cargill, and eventually it was re-named the Harlem Tennis Center (HTC).

In 1972, the Inter-Community Tennis Association (with Zack Davis as President and Barbara Craddock-Royal as Secretary) started a junior program at the Armory, under the direction of Bill Brown and Bill Jefferson. In 1975, the program was underwritten by Bill's Indoor Tennis and was named Bill's Junior Program.

During the Koch administration, all 8 tennis courts were used to house the homeless, but even then, tennis was still played on 4 courts for the children from 4pm to 8pm, after Claude Cargill persuaded the Armory to grant its approval for the junior program to use the space. The junior program was re-named the Harlem Junior Tennis Program (HJTP) at that time, since Claude Cargill and Bill Brown had severed their partnership at the Armory.

When mayor David Dinkins took office, he restored the right of the HTC to offer tennis programs to the community. In 1992, the HTC was granted a lease by the state to operate as a commercial entity under the direction of Claude Cargill, allowing the HTC to rent space to the many youth and adult programs that were established there.

At that time, the HJTP requested and received a separate lease from the state, to operate the program as a non-profit organization with its own governing board. The HTC continued to rent out space to the many other non-profit and for-profit youth and adult tennis programs there, as well as court time to individuals at hourly, monthly, and seasonal rates.

Click here for a list of the 14 youth and 18 adult programs operating at the Armory during the 2000-2001 season.

Return to the Top

What's in the neighborhood?

I've heard of plans to turn the 369th Armory into a multi-use recreational center. Are there any other organizations in the area near the Armory which *already* provide recreational/community services?

Yes, within approximately 10 city blocks (10 blocks = 1/2 mile) of the Armory, there are about a dozen such groups.

Within the general area of Central Harlem, there are perhaps 40 or more organizations (50+, if the eastern boundary is extended a few blocks from Fifth Avenue to the East/Harlem River) providing children's and after-school programs alone. Click here for a listing of their names and addresses.

Below are brief descriptions of the organizations within approximately 10 city blocks of the Armory.

Descriptions of four of those organizations were formerly given on the Harlem-Ontime web site. These are:

• Hansborough Recreational Center
  
  

• Harlem YMCA
  
  

• Minisink Town House
  
  

• Kennedy Memorial Community Center
  
  

Similarly, the Jackie Robinson Center is both a recreation center and also has a computer resource center.

Both centers (as well as the Pelham Fritz Center somewhat farther to the south, which also has recreation and computer facilities) are run by the NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

The Harlem YMCA has additional information on its own web site, including links to descriptions of its various programs, such as programs for: kids (2-12); teens (13-17); as well as for adults and seniors , including free computer classes for seniors.

Graham Windham also has several facilities in the vicinity of the HTC, including:

• the Graham-Windham Family Support Center (located at 646 Lenox Avenue),
  providing child care services
  
  

• the Graham-Windham Center (located at 151 West 136th Street),
  providing foster care
  
  
• the Graham-Windham Manhattan Center (located at 245 West 145th Street -- between 7th & 8th avenues),
  providing mental health services as well as additional family support.

Click on the links below to see brief descriptions of Graham Windham, including Who They Are and More About Them .

Right next door to the Graham Windham Day Care Center at 669 Lenox Avenue (between 143rd & 144th streets) is the Frederick Samuel Community Center, which offers an after-school homework and tutorial program for children ages 7-13, from 3pm-6pm, Monday thru Thursday. At other times, it also offers a recreation program, including such activities as: basketball, football, Karate, and cheerleading.

The M.L. Wilson Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, located at 425 West 144th Street, is also situated near the Armory. Click here to see their mission statement and a brief description of the services that they provide for the community.

There is also the Jackie Robinson Youth Center on 135th Street between Lenox & Seventh Avenues, directly across the street from the Harlem YMCA.

The Salvation Army also has a Harlem Community Center at 540 Malcolm X Blvd. (on Lenox Ave. between 137th & 138th streets), offering services for both youth and senior citizens. It is #33 on the Salvation Army's web site map .

The Countee Cullen Community Center of the Rheedlen Foundation, located at 242 West 144th Street (between 7th & 8th avenues) serves both children and adults of the community. Rheedlen, original founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, has now taken the name of Harlem Children's Zone, Inc. Click here to learn more about the Harlem Children's Zone.

Slightly further away is Riverbank State Park , with both indoor and outdoor facilities. Brief descriptions of Riverbank and of other parks in the vicinity (including the historic Colonel Young Park directly across the street from the HTC) used to be found on the Harlem-Ontime web site.

In addition, according to a press release published by the Department of Public and Community Relations of the NYC government, dated Dec. 19, 2000, construction of a $7 million new community center at the Polo Grounds was signed off on by officials of the NYC Housing Authority. Construction was scheduled to begin in Feb., 2001.

The 21,850-square-foot community center, to be located on West 159th Street, near the Polo Grounds Towers and the Rangel Houses, will house, among other things, a full gymnasium with a regulation-size basketball court, which is to be constructed "so that it can be easily transformed into a multipurpose room with a stage platform for performances and community events."

Also planned is construction of an education wing for the center, which will "accommodate computer and audio/video rooms, a photo lab, a game room and an arts and crafts center."

[more details about other community based organizations (CBOs) in the neighborhood will follow, as time and space permits]

Return to the Top

Tennis has historically been played at the Harlem Armory for more than 50 years. Tennis is not something new to the Harlem community.

The benefits of tennis are great. It is a sport for a lifetime and has much to offer people of all ages, activity levels, and backgrounds.

Tennis is not elitist, though it may sometimes appear to be so, since there are usually so few opportunities for those in an urban setting to find affordable quality tennis instruction and practice time.

For youth, there may not be 50-100 kids on the floor at one time, but tennis is very different from basketball, track, and some other sports. Tennis requires quiet, concentration, and rules of etiquette. Focus is imperative and cannot be had on the same floor where people are simultaneously playing basketball. You must be able to hear the ball and see the ball hit the racquet without distraction.

There is nothing wrong with basketball or track, for example. But other sports or activities more compatible with tennis might include golf, gymnastics, fencing, or chess. There is room at the Harlem Armory for tennis and these more compatible sports and activities.

Tennis offers youth the obvious benefits of general hand-eye coordination, discipline, abstract cognition, etc. In addition, there is the ability for youth to earn college scholarships, either based on their tennis ability or on their academic achievements growing out of the increased focus, dedication, self-esteem, and respect for others, learned through their practice of tennis.

For over 25 years, for example, the Pyramid Tennis Association (PTA), (a Harlem-based non-profit organization founded by Ms. Arvelia Myers in 1973 and one of the junior programs active at the HTC), has provided thousands of youth 6 years old and up with opportunities to develop discipline, good sportsmanship, self-sufficiency, self-esteem, good health habits, and a sense of achievement. Based on past experience, the PTA believes that the development of these values goes a long way in preventing truancy and curbing juvenile delinquency.

Each youngster who participates in the PTA program is required to maintain normal school attendance and increase their reading and scholastic achievement levels at a normal rate. Counseling and tutoring is provided on a regular basis for those who require it. Graduates of the PTA have gone on to prestigious colleges and universities, becoming successful professionals in a variety of fields.

Similarly, the Leslie Allen Foundation, which began with its pilot program, the Young Tennis Divas (whose students trained at the HTC before travelling to the Australian Open to take part in Kids' Day there), emphasizes that tennis is "more than just hitting a ball." Its goal is to teach youth to "win for life" through the four D's of Desire, Dedication, Discipline, and Determination. It's program also includes public speaking, writing, and career opportunities, and its mission is to "mentor and expose inner city youth to the 100+ careers behind the scenes in professional tennis."

Ms. Myers has pointed out that adults also benefit (physically, emotionally, mentally, socially) from the enjoyment and therapeutic value of participating in tennis, a sport for a lifetime. At the Harlem Tennis Center, adults (including senior citizens) participate in a variety of lessons, friendly matches, and league competitions, some geared for beginners and others for intermediate and more advanced players as well.

For all players, tennis promotes physical fitness, coordination, agility, balance. Tennis helps players develop discipline, problem-solving skills, and stress management, as well as communication and social interaction. More and more, tennis is becoming a team sport fostering cooperation with and acceptance of others.

Return to the Top

Why 8 tennis courts at the Harlem Armory; why not 6 or 4?

Having less than 8 courts sets the tennis center up for failure. In order to have a viable tennis center, you need enough courts to accommodate the need. During peak times at the Harlem Tennis Center (HTC), people have to wait hours for an available court. If there are less than 8 courts, the tennis-playing public would go elsewhere or not play at all. At that point, the HTC would no longer be a viable tennis center.

Return to the Top

In addition to tennis, can the HTC provide for other sports and activities at the Harlem Armory?

Yes, the Harlem Tennis Center (HTC) can rent out space to various groups qualified to provide such programming.

For example, during the 2000-2001 season at the Armory, in addition to tennis, the HTC also rented space for golf, chess, and after-school homework programs.

The golf and chess programs already at the HTC can be expanded for both youth and adults, with billiards also being added. The homework programs can be extended, and supplemented by the renting of space by the HTC for additional training in SAT, ESL, GED, and computer skills, not only for youth but also for adults and senior citizens as well.

Rather than basketball, space for other sports more compatible with tennis could be included, such as fencing, gymnastics, and the martial arts.

(There are many facilities already operating in the vicinity of the Harlem Armory which provide basketball to youth.)

Space could also be rented to existing community based organizations (CBOs) with the expertise to develop additional programs for both youth and adults in the Harlem community.

Return to the Top

What's tennis like at the Armory?

From the 1950’s through the turn of this century, the Harlem Tennis Center operated as a business enterprise at the Harlem 369th Regiment Armory. No one got rich running it, but it was self-sustaining (although in times of need, members of the community who had access to additional funding did step up to give financial backing to the enterprise).

The Harlem Tennis Center was, in effect, a labor of love. Its proprietors and the tennis professionals who taught there made only a modest profit. But more important, it was a way for them to grow the game of tennis in the community, making tennis accessible and affordable among people of all ages who otherwise might not have been exposed to learning tennis at all or who would not have been able to afford to continue playing the game on a regular basis.

In an article published in Tennis Week magazine, one long-time player at the Harlem Tennis Center gave this description of tennis at the Harlem Armory in 2001:

“…like all sports, tennis and the passion for it sometimes are irrational, and it takes a touch of the irrational to explain the Harlem Tennis Center’s appeal. It has no modern facilities, no comfortable locker room with towels, no hot showers, no well-stocked pro shop, no lounge or juice bar….

What it does have is a disarming informality, a slouchy, amiable atmosphere that's as comfortable as old shoes. The staff is low key, and often consists of just Claude Cargill, 85 and one of the operating partners, hanging out in a warmup suit and baseball cap. Court fees are low enough that when your hour is up, nobody elbows you off and starts blasting away before you can escape the court, the way they do at the $75 per hour places in Midtown.

The radio station is permanently set to WBGO, where jazz and blues make up the musical menu. There's usually a chess game going on, or checkers, with or without kibitzing, under the posters of tennis stars past and present that adorn the walls. Kids and their tutors do homework together.”

“The Harlem Tennis Center (HTC) is our village. Regardless of various backgrounds, we are family, and provide a safe haven for young and old alike. It serves all boroughs and all are welcome….

We put up with the cold showers and the few comforts because we have a jewel here, a diamond in the rough. No slick state-of-the-art multi-sport complex can possibly provide what the HTC does -- multi-generational mentoring with exposure to role models."

Return to the Top