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Friends of
Harlem
Tennis

Friends of Harlem Tennis Center

Press Release

Click here to see the original press release of Dec. 2000.

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News Updates

• 04/15/06:   According to a spokesperson for the Harlem Armory Project, the renovation of the drill shed floor (where the tennis courts are located) has begun, with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2006.
  
  
• 02/12/06:   Promised renovations by the PAL still not started at the Armory -- tennis community still waiting for restoration of their tennis courts.
  
  
• 09/30/05:   HTC still closed, pending start of renovations by the PAL.
  
  
• 03/10/04:   After several meetings with the Friends of HTC (FHTC), the PAL agreed to keep tennis as the central theme at the Harlem Armory.
  
  The PAL will replace the eight (8) existing tennis courts with eight (8) new courts, identical in size and location to the current tennis courts.
  
  Six (6) of those courts will be dedicated to tennis with a special tennis surface. The other two (2) courts will have a multi-purpose surface, with the predominant court markings on them being for tennis.

• 10/27/03:   The Friends of HTC (FHTC) learned that the PAL had been granted a 5-year lease (effective June 1, 2003) by the DMNA for the drill shed floor (where the tennis courts are located) at the Harlem Armory.

• 08/01/03:  No response to its bid for the lease at the Harlem Armory received by the A-Z Tennis Association (AZTA) from the DMNA, despite AZTA's request for feedback on the merits of its bid

• 07/10/03:  Members of the FHTC appeared on the WBAI ( NYC - FM radio) program, "Education at the Crossroads," hosted by Basir Mchawi -- issues discussed included the proud history and current status of tennis at the Harlem Armory, as well as the contribution of tennis to all aspects of education (physical, mental, social)

• 02/15/03:  The A-Z Tennis Association (AZTA), under the direction of Mr. Zack Davis, submitted a bid for the lease of the HTC for the 2003-2004 indoor season to Maj. Gen. Maguire of the DMNA (grantor of the lease for the eight tennis courts at the Harlem Armory)

• 11/01/02:  HTC granted 6-month lease by the DMNA for the current indoor 2002-2003 season (Nov. 1 - April 30)

• 09/17/02:  HTC again sitting empty and deserted, while youth, their parents, and adult/senior players and pros await news on the fate of the only affordable indoor tennis facility accessible to them

• 09/10/02:  According to the DMNA (grantor of the lease at HTC's 369th Armory site), no lease has yet been signed for the upcoming season
  
  HTC again sitting empty and deserted, while youth, their parents, and adult/senior players and pros await news on the fate of the only affordable indoor tennis facility accessible to them

• 08/25/02:  no apparent progress in obtaining a lease for the 2002-2003 (Sept.-May) indoor season, despite efforts by the Friends of HTC to communicate with those parties seeking to replace tennis programming with non-tennis activities

August, 2002

• despite promises made at the last meeting between the Friends of HTC (FHTC) and the other interested parties to communicate with the FHTC before the end of July, no statement has been made by them to the FHTC concerning the reinstatement of the more than 30 youth and adult tennis programs at the Harlem Armory

July, 2002

• Manhattan Borough President, C. Virginia Fields, convened another meeting, this time at her Centre Street office, giving representatives from the various groups (including the Friends of HTC) interested in the development of programs at the Armory, another opportunity to discuss and resolve their differences

• after the meeting at Centre Street, the Friends of HTC (FHTC) met the following week to discuss programming and scheduling issues with some of the parties seeking to replace tennis programming with non-tennis activities at the Harlem Armory, but those parties declined to discuss either programming or scheduling with the FHTC at that time

June, 2002

• HTC (the sustaining entity for all but one of the more than 30 youth and adult tennis programs at the Harlem Armory) still without a lease for the upcoming 2002-2003 indoor season

• An interim lease was extended by the DMNA to the HTC from 02/01/02 through 04/30/02, while the DMNA continued to consider the merits of a longer-term lease at the Armory proposed by the HTC

Sept., 2001

• Upon the failure of the DMNA to grant a lease to the HTC for the Fall 2001 season at the Armory, a 3rd letter-writing campaign to the DMNA was begun, asking again that the HTC be granted a lease for the 2001-2002 indoor season

June, 2001

• 2nd FHTC letter-writing campaign to the DMNA began, this time asking them to grant a new lease to the HTC and the HJTP

May, 2001

• an informative piece, written by Nick Taylor (who also plays tennis on a regular basis at the Center), on the plight of the HTC appeared in the May 15th issue of Tennis Week magazine (click here to see the full text of the article)

• Manhattan Borough President, C. Virginia Fields, convened another meeting, this time at the Armory, giving representatives from the various groups (including the Friends of HTC) interested in the development of programs at the Armory, another opportunity to discuss and resolve their differences

Feb., 2001

• Manhattan Borough President, C. Virginia Fields, convened a meeting at her 125th Street office, giving representatives from the various groups (including the Friends of HTC) interested in the development of programs at the Armory, the opportunity to discuss their differences

• article on the HTC by Tom Kosinski for Sports Central published:
  • describes the HTC:
    • as "one of the very few publicly available and affordable indoor tennis court facilities in the New York Metro area"
      
      
    • and that it "has been and continues to be the heart and soul of the inner city and African-American tennis community in New York"
      
      

  • quotes Arvelia Myers, Co-Chair of the FHTC, as saying that:
    • the HTC is "more than just a tennis facility." It is a place where "the therapeutic value of tennis, especially a place for tennis, education and self-motivation" can be experienced -- a place where "the youth of the community can come and find out who they really are."
      
      
    • "As long as the tennis center at the Armory is open, kids can come and feel comfortable there. Parents know that they are safe there."

Jan., 2001

• DMNA agreed to extend the HTC lease from 2/28 thru 5/31
  
  
• televised segment on the HTC aired with NY1's Rebecca Spitz
  
  
  • click here (and then click on "DialUp" or "BroadBand" under the article's headline at the NY1 News web site) to hear an excerpt from her televised interview
    
    
  • click close in the NY1 browser window to return to this site

Dec., 2000

• 1st meeting (and subsequent meetings) of the Friends of Harlem Tennis Center (FHTC) took place
  
  
• FHTC letter-writing campaign to the DMNA began, asking the DMNA to extend the lease of the HTC and the Harlem Junior Tennis Program (HJTP)

• FHTC call-in campaign to the media & politicians began, asking them to intervene on behalf of the HTC

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Kristina Nwazota, in writing about the HTC for New York Magazine, states:

"Like many people, I hadn't thought of tennis as a sport many black people play, despite the success of stars like Venus and Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, and Althea Gibson."

"Today, it's home to more than 1,000 players, including doctors, firemen, actors, cops, teachers, and 150 Harlem schoolchildren."

"...aren't too unrealistic, considering that two of the top U.S. college players, now pro, both graduated from the program: the 1999 No. 1-ranked NCAA player, James Blake, All-American at Harvard, and his brother Thomas, also All-American at Harvard".

"Our goal is to get them tennis scholarships to college.... Let's face it: We don't always have the money in our communities."

"Most black heroes are basketball or football players.... This gives them a chance to see something different."

Click here to see the full text of that article.

 
Former professional tour player, Leslie Allen, also emphasizes the importance of tennis as a non-traditional sport.

In her letter to Behind the Baseline in the June 26, 2001 issue of Tennis Week magazine, she describes non-traditional sports as exposing and elevating youth to new worlds, giving them the opportunity to reach for the stars -- with tennis, in particular, as giving kids a very different way to reach in that direction. Click here to see the full text of her letter.

Ms. Allen had already put her words into action when she took her Young Tennis Divas (a group of inner-city junior girls from Harlem) to the Australian Open in 1999.

In her letter to Claude Cargill, thanking him for providing the facilities of the HTC to her and the girls in preparation for that trip, she spoke of how the girls learned in Australia first hand (in seminars with WTA Tour staff and other people in a variety of careers) the education and skills needed to become not only a professional tennis player, but also: a player agent, a tournament director, a writer, an athletic trainer, a computer center worker, a TV broadcaster or technician, a post match court reporter, etc.

 
New Yorkers are not the only ones who recognize the importance of tennis in the development of youth.

In Detroit, for example, one teacher of both tennis and the martial arts is developing a program for urban youth, using tennis as a major vehicle for them "to learn a lot about life," fostering "discipline, respect for the game and for each other."

Tennis also provides them an opportunity to "earn good college scholarships by striving for excellence."

In Houston, the All Court Tennis Foundation describes its tennis program as "character development training through tennis and mentoring. The training focuses on building self-esteem and social skills."

To quote from part of its philosophy:

While few students may pursue a professional tennis career, all will use acquired skills to prepare themselves for real life issues.

By emphasizing structured activities with positive reinforcement and good role models, all children will be given useful tools to succeed and excel in both tennis and life.

Interaction with tennis coaches, adult mentors and especially with each other enables the participants to foster respect for other people, accept differences, and value diversity.

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