Friends of Harlem Tennis Center

Past News Briefs

The Struggle to Save Affordable Tennis Excellence at the Harlem Armory

08/01/08: Still no affordable tennis at the Harlem Armory for our tennis community - time to start another campaign? Our taxpayer dollars paid for the renovations in full... the cost of the rent has been minimal for the past five years.... How much longer are we supposed to wait?
09/06/06: Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated tennis facility at the Harlem Armory - according to Mayor Bloomberg: "The $6.4 million reconstruction project, administered by the PAL, was made possible by a combination of City, State and Federal contributions."
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. 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
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
06/25/02: 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
01/30/02: HTC back in business effective Friday, 02/01/02. The DMNA has granted the HTC an interim lease from 02/01/02 through 04/30/02, while it considers the HTC request for a longer term lease in the future. During this 3-month interim lease period, the HTC plans to restore as many programs as possible that were in operation during the 2000-2001 indoor season.
- Click here for a list of those Adult and Youth programs active during the 2000-2001 season.
10/15/01: HTC closed to civilians, as National Guard troops continue to respond to the World Trade Center attack of 9/11
09/07/01: HTC 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
08/10/01: According to the DMNA (grantor of the lease at HTC's 369th Armory site), no lease has yet been signed for the upcoming season

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