NYC Parks, Squash And An Open Place
Queens Councilman Robert Holden visiting Maspeth Steel, where he joined in on the Hamburgers vs Hotdogs - Pro Team Squash meets BBQ festivities. Video below: His shared thoughts and supportive encouragement.
“I’ve already committed to a capital project with a squash court in a park, in Maspeth or in Middle Village, how do you like that?”
“I will commit, we have the space, and will look at the costs, obiviously, but I need the specs, so, you’re gonna have to give me the specs…”
“… and then maybe our Olympians can come and christen the park…”
If only.
Talk of squash courts in NYC Park space happens in very, very small circles. Squash is a niche sport by most comparisons. NYC Parks Department has, historically, done a wonderful job facilitating spaces for many niche sports. By its own standard, it has turned some niche sports into demographically-mainstream activities for decades. With over 2000 handball courts, the games played on those would be my first example. The socially trending sport of pickleball would be more recent example. Simply putting up a pickleball net on a little used handball court or an open space meant for basketball or softball, draws people in multitude. New specifically designated spaces for pickleball become overrun daily. Obviously, the fact that pickleball has culturally exploded has much to do with it. The NYC Park space used for pickleball today has facilitated engagement for almost every aspiring pickleball player living in New York City, in a significant way. Squash , in complete contrast, is an example of a sport that has failed to sustain what little traction it may have garnered with NYC Parks Department in the past. The sport is more unfamilar than it is unknown. When it comes to talk of big park projects in NYC, that distinction is of utmost importance.
Local comments re: The Public Squash Project
It’s been tried.
A few years ago, a few gentlemen calling themselves Public Squash got together to raise money to donate a court to the New York City Parks and Recreation Department. Their story was, they were lamenting playing outside one day and thought, let’s do this.
They received permission to plant a glass court on a handball court at Hamilton Fish Recreational Center on the Lower East Side. Hamilton Fish Park serves the local community with a huge public pool and local programing. The plan was basically just to drop a glass court in the park with the hopes it would be used by squash enthusiasts.
Nice idea. Whether the group had plans to engage the community with follow up programing and maybe racquets and balls that could be borrowed at the rec center to encourage locals to engage on the court, I truly don’t know. It was a good spot. I grew up in the neighborhood and know it well. The project felt gratuitous to me, but I initially thought it could be workable.
The project crashed into the designated spot with a sort of Here-You-Go, Your-Welcome vibe and aside from the occasional visitor, the court proved unsustainable. The glass was vandalized pretty quickly, and repair efforts failed to ensure the court’s survival. Ultimately, the court proved divisive, leaving the area with a worse idea of what the sport of squash represents. While it wasn’t a bad idea, it bounced in tone-deaf to the neighborhood. (Check this Vogue article.)
The ideation of having squash in a public park, in just about every conversation I’ve had, involved me sensing an intrinsic co-opting of public park space in the guise “Wouldn’t it be great…” and “You’re welcome.” Visions here begin and end with what they know - they know. It will prove a long road to get anywhere near a fruitful, truthful conversation about whom a squash court would or could yield true promise, in varying forms.
Ideation. From Where?
“I’ve already committed to a capital project with a squash court in a park, in Maspeth or in Middle Village, how do you like that?”
My thoughts are that Councilman Holden may have been referencing a part of the Maspeth Park improvement project mentioned here. In his defense, optimism mixed with experiencing the steel court, will spur wishful talk. By the same token, we at Maspeth Steel would be very open to create one for the financially willing, though there currently is no plan to create what could be considered a working model for a New York City park. Any conception of a public squash court would have to fit in the narrow space of what would be specifically sustainable for any, individual city park. Note, you don’t randomly see 3 Wall courts in NYC Parks. Initially built to facilitate a game ushered in by immigrants, a one wall court is better suited for the openness and safety concerns needed in a New York City Park. Retrofitting one for squash is naturally the first thought in any conversation. That to me feels more of a problem solving approach. It’s a bit muffled, but before Councilman Holden’s squash court statement, he began by mentioning he’s a lifelong resident. He goes on to say he’s amazed at how after an impressive factory walk-through, he then sees out-of-the box thinking in the court space created by design here at Maspeth Squash.
Maspeth or Middle Village, for a new public squash court in Queens? Which neighborhood (park) would be most suitable for squash court? The answer is both. I was born and raised up on the Lower East Side. The Public Squash project mentioned above could have worked by my thinking. With the proper attention to neighborhood culture and specific, locally involved intent, the Parks Department can facilitate squash for sure. Squash, like most sports, offers opportunity for fun, exercise and transferable skill development. But Squash is a sport that requires an enclosed space, which by default works against the idea of open and accessible park spaces. Open means inviting. Vibrant NYC Parks have become invaluable to communities when they present as open and deliver true the benefit to the local community. If you can’t facilitate that, it will become unsustainable. I’ve heard rumblings, in the ether, of talks for a squash court in Gotham Park underneath the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side. Gotham Park is a unique location intersecting a number of neighborhoods. Dropping a squash court there would be the epitome of random. But, with thought, it could prove wildly engaging. For instance, Gotham Park has been a skateboarding hub for as long as I can remember. That project should consider using steel, as I offer up a shameless but righteous plug. Imagine including a suitable number of steel horizontal railings in accompaniment of the squash court, designed to be co-oped by skateboarders. Work with what you got, is what I say.
Councilman Bob Holden with professional touring squash players and 2028 Olympic hopefuls, listed left to right: Matias Knudsen, Nicole Bunyan, Timmy Brownell and Spencer Lovejoy.
Open spaces feel inviting. Seeing people out in the open playing sports in public spaces and hearing the corresponding sounds ignite whatever small sparks of interest passersby may be germinating. In that sense, NYC Parks present themselves as open, socially viable avenues for the uninitiated. Pickleball simply rode a wave into any accommodating set up it could find in this city. Paddleball had almost the same command on NYC Parks throughout the 70s and 80s. I’m sure Councilman Holden is well aware that one of the last few meccas for paddleball is still thriving in his one of his districts, next to the Bocce Ball courts at Juniper Valley Park. Even today, there are kids who will walk by the players and watch, before continuing on with whatever play, or class outing they were there for. You can see them looking back when it’s time to leave.
Make no mistake, NYC Parks are uniquely designed to foster serious sporting endeavors, and grow them. Squash, which is now officially an Olympic sport, can surely thrive somewhere in a New York City Park. At least one can be built that fosters growth for a local community. Advocates just need to ensure the ideation is open and locals play a key role in its development.
