PAL informed the state it had done an 'informal survey' of the area surrounding the Harlem armory and found there was a need for its program. Armed with this 'informal survey,' PAL went after HIDTA money.
The mission of the HIDTA's armory project is "to convert under-used NYC armories into multi-purpose, athletic, educational and cultural centers for children." The misconception here is that the 369th armory is "under-used" because it is a tennis facility. There may not be 50-100 kids on the floor at one time, but tennis is very different from basketball, track and other sports. Tennis requires quiet, concentration and rules of etiquette. You cannot teach or play tennis and basketball on the same floor at the same time, as PAL is proposing for the four courts in its plan. We need all eight courts for our more than 30 tennis programs serving both adults and youngsters.
The Friends of the HTC have written to, and visited, the politicos, with no response or concern for our plight. The only response and help received was from Community Board 10 and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields. The Friends learned that the HTC lease was extended to May 31st, and that the proposed changes would leave the armory "tennis-themed," with only four courts.
We are concerned because PAL will be the sole lessee, with a 20-year lease, and it has requested that the annual rent of $40,000 be off-set by any capital improvements made by PAL.
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. Successful blacks from all walks of life return to the neighborhood and play tennis here.
We are concerned because the PAL's flagship operation, the 168th St. Armory, left a disenfranchised community. The Catholic Archdiocese, a sub-lessee of the PAL, buses in its children from all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, leaving the doors locked to the children in the community [emphasis added].
There are no innocent parties here. PAL was aided and abetted by a few with close ties to HTC. Last fall when patrons of HTC heard rumors and began to ask questions, the response was either "I don't know," or "I can't talk about it." Now time is short -- we find ourselves at the brink of losing another important link in our community.
(article courtesy of Tennis Week magazine, 05/15/01, pp. 16-17)
Click here to learn more about the Harlem Tennis Center.