UPPER WEST SIDER, STAFFS THE FAMOUS TENNIS TOURNAMENT

By Angela Barbuti

James Della Pace is serving at the U.S. Open, but he is not a tennis player. President of Amerivents Event Staffing, his company staffs the USTA with over 1,000 employees at the tournament’s concessions and suites.

This can seem like a daunting task. However, to Della Pace, an Upper West Side resident, whose company also staffs such events as the Kentucky Derby and the Food and Wine Festival, it’s not only a job, but a part of his life.

“We are thoroughly involved in the whole process and really get to know the people, the guests, and how the event operates from all angles,” he said.

Over a month before the event, interviews were set up with over 2,000 candidates. “It’s 90 percent about attitude,” he explained. “They are working 12 hours days and have to keep smiling,” he says. Although many résumés flood Amerivents’ inbox, most hires come from referrals. Being a Queens native himself, Della Pace staffs the Open, which is held in Flushing Meadows, in collaboration with Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “There is a great sense of pride that comes with providing locals in the community work for these few weeks. By recruiting from the surrounding neighborhoods, we are helping the community by giving people the opportunity to be involved in one of the biggest sporting events in our country,” he stated.

Before a career in the service industry, Della Pace was a stockbroker who wanted a change. Having been a bartender, he answered an ad for Spirit Cruises he saw in the New York Times. “I stayed in hospitality ever since,” he said.

Recently Amerivents took on another venture in the form of organic catering. When Stonyfield Yogurt became a sponsor of the U.S. Open two years ago, Della Pace met their Chairman Gary Hirshberg. In April, the two teamed up to create Chelsea’s Table Catering By Amerivents.

“Our mission is to get the word out on healthy foods in a fast-food environment,” Della Pace said. The new partnership is dedicated to educating people about organic, yet tasty options at catering events. Most tend to associate catered events with frozen, processed, and overall unhealthy food choices. However, because of the recent strides made in the availability of organic food, Della Pace noticed a change in the minds of eaters.

Upper West Side Chef David Seigal of the Tangled Vine, who was also involved with the Open, helped collaborate on the company’s catering menu. “We chose dishes that were not only healthy and natural, but ones that the catering world are used to,” Della Pace said.

Their first client was none other than Michelle Obama. “That was exciting,” Della Pace said, of her presidential fundraiser which was held at Chelsea Piers in late March. But Della Pace stresses the fact that there are events that can be planned to fit a smaller budget as well. He is seeing a decrease in the cost of organic options because of the recent high demand for these products. “The farms are getting supported and the pricing is coming more in line with our regular food,” Della Pace stated.

This summer, Amerivents also had a political event on their plate and served at the CNN Grill during the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay. Union Square Hospitality handled the food aspect of the convention, and they staffed it. Della Pace said, “Amerivents staffed the DNC four years ago, therefore staffing the RNC this year was a natural for us. It is exciting for Amerivents to be a part of both political events over the last few years to show our support not only for one political party or another, but rather for these large conventions where people are encouraged to speak their political views and support their party.”

Good Night's Sleep: A donation of mattresses and box springs from Long's Bedding & Interiors to Nazareth Housing Furniture Donation Service are loaded for delivery on July 12. On hand for the donation were: Mildred Perez, coordinator for client services, prevention and outreach; James Saracini, assistant for development and mission; Steven M. Edwards, member of the Nazareth Housing Board of Directors; and Terri and Bob Long, owners of Long's. The Nazareth Housing Furniture Donation Service provides furniture to low-income families and seniors across New York City at no cost to the recipient or donor.

Biberaj Hits Fundraising Limit in Four Months
Upper West Side City Council candidate Ken Biberaj has joined the ranks of the few in his campaign efforts. He is among a small handful of candidates in races around the city to have reached the fundraising limit with over a year to go before the fall 2013 elections. According to his campaign, Biberaj will report a total haul of $130,000 for the current filing period from over 850 donors; average contribution size, they said, is $150. This total qualifies the campaign for the full matching funds allowed for both the primary and general elections.

Biberaj said that this doesn’t change his campaign strategy, but it certainly frees him up to focus on things other than fundraising.
“Our plan all along has been to go door to door, person to person, to listen to the concerns of my neighbors and talk about how we can make the Upper West Side an even better place to live,” he said in an email. “The fact that we reached this point so quickly shows that people are excited about our message and excited about our plan to help the Upper West Side. This is a grassroots campaign and we worked very hard over the last four months to meet as many people as possible and raise the funds needed for this campaign.”

Biberaj, who works in real estate and is an executive at the Russian Tea Room, credits the campaign’s focus on small events in living rooms and getting many low-dollar contributions.

Free Summer Tennis Program for Kids
This summer until Aug. 24, accompany your child (ages 5-18) to the New York Junior Tennis League at the Brandeis High School Campus at 145 W. 84th St. There you can register your child for the free tennis program that runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-4 p.m. Loaner tennis rackets and balls are provided. The program is funded by the City Council.

Manhattan Ivory Ring Busted
Two dealers in the sale of illegal elephant ivory pled guilty on Tuesday to felony charges of illegal commercialization of wildlife, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance announced. Mukesh Gupta, 67, and Johnson Jung-Chien Lu, 56, entered guilty pleas for themselves as well as for their companies—Raja Jewels Inc. and New York Jewelry Mart Corp., respectively—for violations of the Environmental Conservation Law. Under the law, it is illegal to sell products made of material from endangered or threatened wildlife species without a permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Today, all classifications of elephants are listed as endangered or threatened animals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

“Today’s cases are a small but important step in protecting the endangered and threatened elephant species,” Vance said in a statement. “This investigation is part of an ongoing and focused effort by my office to combat environmental crime and clamp down on the illegal ivory underground marketplace, which fuels the international poaching crisis.” Neither Gupta nor Lu possessed the proper permits required to legally sell ivory. The charges come after ivory valued at more than $2 million in total was seized from the two businesses during an investigation by the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, with aid from the D.A.’s Office, the DEC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Delivery Bike Crackdown
Cyclists flouting the law found themselves the targets of several attacks from the city last week. On Thursday, City & State reported that Upper East Side Council Member Dan Garodnick and Queens Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer called for legislation to double traffic violation fines for those riding electronic-assisted bicycles, which are illegal in the city. Even though the City Council overrode a mayoral veto to ban electronic bikes in 2004, both Garodnick and Van Bramer said at a press conference in Queens that motorists are still dangerously riding electronic bikes on the sidewalk, against traffic and through red lights. Noting that he had seen an electronic-assisted bike just minutes before the press conference, Van Bramer said there was an “epidemic of reckless driving” in his district and across the city. By doubling the fines, Garodnick said the city could step up enforcement.

“Navigating our city streets is dangerous and difficult enough without the reckless actions of many cyclists who are riding illegal electric bikes today,” Garodnick said. “We need to empower our law enforcement officials to help crack down on this illegal activity.”
The legislation, introduced by Garodnick and co-sponsored by Van Bramer and seven other council members in June of last year, is awaiting a hearing by the Council’s transportation committee this fall. In February, Council Member Jessica Lappin introduced a separate bill to double the $500 fine for selling or operating an electronic-assisted bicycle.

The next day, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan held a press conference to announce the DOT’s new education and enforcement program for delivery cyclists. The commissioner was joined by Council Members Gale Brewer, Lappin, Garodnick and Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca, as well as some restaurant owners, to introduce the efforts and explain the program that will target first the Upper West and then the Upper East Side.

A special six-person unit of the DOT will go door to door to businesses and explain to employers the legal requirements and safety information for their delivery cyclists. After a six-month period, businesses who violate the laws will receive fines ranging from $100 to $300.

The program comes after the Upper East Side community has called repeatedly for holding businesses accountable for delivery cyclists’ reckless behavior.

“New Yorkers believe they have a constitutional right to great food delivered to their door while it’s still hot—and they’re right,” said Garodnick. “That cannot mean that we will compromise the safety of our streets in the process.”

The education portion of the program will give businesses brochures on safety and the law as well as ID cards their cyclists can fill out and keep on them. Employers will be required to provide upper body apparel with the name of their business clearly identified as well as safety equipment like lights, reflective gear and helmets.

“We need to put the brakes on dangerous delivery bicycles,” said Lappin. “Education and enforcement will make us all safer on our streets.”

Men’s Swimming
Fan favorite Michael Phelps returns for what may be his last Olympic cycle to compete in five events. Phelps collected eight medals in the 2004 games in Athens and another eight in Beijing, winning more individual medals than any other athlete at both games. He holds the records for most gold medals won at a single Games (eight) and highest total gold medals won by a single athlete (14). At 16 individual medals overall, Phelps is just three away from breaking Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record for the most individual Olympic medals of any athlete in history.

Women’s Swimming
Missy Franklin, 17, qualified for her first Olympics this year. Though she’s new to the Games, Franklin has entered the swimming world with a splash; at the 2012 Olympic trials, she broke Team USA veteran Natalie Coughlin’s American record in the 100-meter backstroke. She took her first five international medals home in the 2011 World Championships, competing alongside Coughlin, and broke two world records in 2011.

Men’s Track & Field
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, five-time world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, is considered easily the fastest man in the world. He currently holds the international records for both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Before Bolt, the U.S.’s own Tyson Gay held the 100-meter sprint title. Gay, with three world golds under his belt, has one of the most decorated records in running history but has yet to medal at an Olympic Games. He’ll be looking to change that this summer when he faces Bolt.

Women’s Track & Field
Carmelita Jeter, a sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash, is the second-fastest woman to ever compete in the event, topping Marion Jones’ best time and nearing the all-time world record held by Florence Griffith-Joyner since 1987. Jeter currently holds three of the 10 best times in history run by a female athlete in the 100-meter race. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jeter finished first in the event and will head to London this summer to go for the gold.

Men’s Wrestling
Jordan Burroughs, a freestyle wrestler from New Jersey, boasts a competition record that speaks for itself: the up-and-comer has won every tournament he has entered in the last three years. Claiming the top spot in the 2011 World Championships, the 2011 Pan American games and the 2011 NCAA Championship, Burroughs became the fourth wrestler in history to win both the world and NCAA titles in a single year.

Women’s Beach Volleyball
Many in the sports world have deemed dynamic duo Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor the greatest beach volleyball team of all time. The pair competed together in the 2004 and 2008 summer Olympics, taking home the gold both times. May-Treanor is also the most successful current women’s beach volleyball player in the world, holding 110 individual championship wins in national and international competitions.

Women’s Tennis
Superstar sisters Serena and Venus Williams will compete alongside each other after a strong year in competition. Both women have held the title of No. 1 female tennis player in the world several times in the last 10 years and have continued to dominate international tournaments, including this month’s Wimbledon.

Men’s Basketball
The Miami Heat’s LeBron James has been the center of attention in the world of men’s basketball since he became the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2003 at age 18. In 2008, the guard/forward helped lead Team USA to victory, securing the team gold in the Beijing summer Games. The American basketball legend will aim for a repeat show this year in London.

Women’s Soccer
31-year-old Abby Wambach led the U.S. women’s soccer team to a gold medal victory in Athens 2004, but missed the opportunity to compete in Beijing four years later due to a leg injury. Having come back strong in 2011 to compete in her third FIFA Women’s World Cup, scoring 13 goals to become the U.S.’s lead scorer in the tournament, Wambach will get another shot in London this summer.

Read More About the Summer Olympics!

• An Olympic Love Story
• Greg Louganis Q&A 
• Olympic Sprinters Trained in Central Park

By Meghan Gearino, Kat Harrison and Elizabeth Raymond

Mohawk Day Camp.

If you tally all of the day camps in the city along with all of the day camps within an hour’s drive, you have an extraordinary menu of summer experiences. From traditional day camps that offer a mix of sports, crafts and field trips, to camps that devote more of their day to culture, music and other specialties, chances are you can find a camp that’s a good fit for your child depending on his or her age and interests.

If you have a child 4 years old or younger who is not ready for a full day of camp, much less a full summer, day camps typically offer sessions that are just a few hours a day and one or two weeks long. If you have an older child, he or she might be ready (and you might be, too) to be put them on a bus in the morning to a camp outside of city, so they can have fun in a more rural setting and perhaps take the first step in the direction of a sleepaway camp experience.

For info on academic day camps, read our recent educational day camp guide at www.NYPress.com. Visit www.NewYorkFamily.com for more on day camps.

Whatever you decide is right for your child, there is one standard where you should not compromise: Camp should be fun, and your child should feel like he or she is making friends. If that’s not happening, it ain’t the right camp—keep looking!

GENERAL-INTEREST DAY CAMPS IN NEW YORK CITY

It’s important to keep kids active when school’s out for the summer. The Summer Breeze Day Camp by Gymtime Rhythm & Glues and York Avenue Preschool is a perfect choice, letting young campers tuck & roll in a state-of-the-art gym while cooking and enjoying library time. And with a new facility in Battery Park City, Summer Day Camp at Asphalt Green has everything from T-ball to martial arts, with weekly trips to popular venues like the Bronx Zoo and Liberty Science Center.

Speaking of animals, the Art Farm in the City is a diamond in the rough for city kids, with its on-site petting zoo and specialization in animal care. They organize the summer by themes like “Tropical Excursion,” “Circus Mania” and “Wild Wild West.” Special days like pajama and BBQ day dot The Mandell School’s Explorer Camp schedule, where all of the counselors are experienced teachers. Or you can give your tot a head start on the camp experience with Poppyseed Pre-Nursery. This mini-camp allows you to join your toddler for picnics, singing and painting.

For an all-around summer camp experience, look no further than Bank Street Summer Camp. Depending on their age, kids can partake in swimming, fishing, Spanish immersion and cabaret. A summer at Camp Léman features woodworking, silly science experiments and a rooftop playground. With multi-borough locations, Oasis Day Camp spotlights field trips and special guests. Plus, kids can get pumped up every morning with cheers and a song—classic camp-style. Thespians and dance aficionados ages 5-10 will love the Babes on Broadway camp by Discovery Programs whereas the LIU Children’s Academy Summer Camp leads children in a different direction, offering robotics, fashion design, cinema and comic book creation.

GENERAL-INTEREST DAY CAMPS OUTSIDE THE CITY

Quintessentially summer, Woodmont Day Camp offers performing arts, athletics, and arts and crafts for each of its age-appropriate “villages.” Looking for a nurturing Jewish environment? The Neil Klatskin Day Camp will take your kiddo boating, hiking and even host a few carnivals. If your child is ready to unleash his or her creative side, don’t miss Gate Hill Day Camp for jewelry-making, tie-dye and ceramics. North Shore Day Camp also provides woodworking and leather arts. For something off the wall, Buckley Country Day Camp offers special events such as a camp-wide talent show, Olympics Week and pony rides.

Can’t get your fish out of the water? Pierce Country Day Camp has their very own sprayground and water park with below-ground geysers and fountains, and also offers water ballet and volleyball lessons. Only 35 minutes from Manhattan, The JCC’s Day Camp @ Pearl River offers twice-a-day swimming with a slide just for the big kids.

Future farmers should check out The Nature Place Day Camp, which houses a chicken coop, beehives and composting piles. Located in White Plains, Mohawk Day Camp (pictured) has an onsite farm with chickens, cows and peacocks alongside gardens and an apple orchard. If petting zoos, gardening and fishing is more your child’s forte, check out Spring Lake Day Camp.

For the athletic-minded, Deer Mountain Day Camp provides all things fencing, archery, rugby, cricket and GaGa. In New Rochelle, Mount Tom Day Camp features a menu of more traditional sports such as kickball, football, golf and tennis. The New York YMCA Camp offers adventurous outdoor adrenaline rushes on their ropes courses, with some fast-flung archery in between. And the 92YCamps not only offer soccer, a mini-zipline and skateboarding activities, the fun is a mere 20-minute bus ride away.

SPECIALTY DAY CAMPS

Thematic

A haven for children ages 3 to 4, Camp Apple Seeds engages kids in activities like cooking and dramatic play according to weekly themes such as “American Road Trip” and “Make Believe.” Running for 11 weeks, the Summer Days Camp at 74th St. MAGIC provides a plush, private rooftop for outdoor play—a boon for “Growing in the Garden” week. At Kidville, we’re especially tickled by the Fairy Princess and Superhero Training camps which let storybook heroes and heroines come to life for little ones. And then it’s all about the sea and stars at Camp Intrepid, where campers ages 5 to 13 can curate their own exhibits, speak like a swashbuckler and explore the next frontier.

Life skills

It’s never too soon to get your child prepared for the “real world.” She could be the next Donna Karan thanks to SewHo’s summer camp, which teaches a variety of hand and machine sewing skills through projects like pillows, handbags and American Girl doll apparel. The Textile Arts Center of Manhattan is offering two camps this sun-filled season—one concentrated on weaving and another on the surface design of textiles, which includes printing and dyeing. Worth every penny, the nonprofit organization World of Money offers a three-week Youth Financial Literacy Training Institute program for campers ages 7-18 and teaches necessary financial skills such as budgeting, investing and money management.

Multi-sport

With low coach-to-camper ratios, your budding athlete (of any sport) is sure to succeed in the age-divided Kids in Sports summer sessions, which also feature storytime and arts & crafts. Or join the Sports Academy at Chelsea Piers for a roster that includes volleyball and European team handball, among the usual sporty suspects. At Corbin’s Crusaders Day Camp—located a mere 25 minutes from the city—ultimate Frisbee, archery, GaGa, and Go-Kart fun will fill the hours.

Tennis

Dust off those racquets! The Advantage Sea & Sports Camp gives your athlete a chance to play on the beautiful Maritime College waterfront and provides your child with 4 to 6 hours of instruction and practice, with an optional swim time. Another great option is the 2012 Excel Summer Camp by the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and SPORTIME Randall’s Island. Along with intensive instruction and technique development, campers can also participate in tennis-specific cross-training like soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

Soccer

Just in time for Euro 2012, Super Soccer Stars offers various camps, depending on your little kicker’s age and skill set. Summer camp at the Carlos Oliveira Soccer Academy focuses on both individual skills and fundamentals of team play. This Brazilian-style soccer camp on the Upper West Side is available for half or full days.

Baseball

Boost your slugger’s sense of sportsmanship and teamwork with the Baseball Center NYC’s summer program—which includes both indoor and outdoor segments of pitching, hitting, fielding and base running. And develop a real love for the game through On Deck NY with skill-building drills and daily competitions in Central Park.

Jodi’s Gym

Gymnastics

Tiny tumblers should somersault their way to Jodi’s Gym (pictured) for parachute play and hands-on art fun for a summer camp where music usually reigns at the beginning of each day. And with two locations, NYC Elite offers families a full or half day option to experience a world of swimming, balance beams and storytime.

Dance

Culminating in a Friday family performance, the Joffrey Ballet School’s Summer Dance Camp lets its youngest dancers recreate the greatest stage stories of all time with basic movement concepts and DIY costumes. The Explore Dance program at The School at Steps caters to those who love the entire spectrum of movement—from hip-hop to tap—and lets them mix and match the styles they like into an ideal schedule. For dancers ages 6-12, Peridance Capezio Center is offering an August Dance Camp combining jazz, ballet and salsa, as well as elements of dance history and choreography. And for those who already have at least a year of classical ballet training under their belt, the New York Theatre Ballet offers its Summer Dance Camp complete with field trips to break up the intensive training. Prospective campers must be between the ages of 7 and 10 and must audition in order to attend.

Performance

Applause NYC’s weeklong Musical Theater Intensives give your kids the chance to learn stage techniques, song placement and costume design in the presence of a Broadway star. If your little one’s interest lies more in the arena of choreography, Vital Theatre’s Junior Performance Camp gives your child a chance to work one-on-one with a professional choreographer and learn all the right moves. A guaranteed good time, the Kids Weeks at the New Victory Theater range from circus tricks to puppetry to playwriting. Performers ages 6-15 get the bonus swank of a major concert hall by attending the Summer Musical Theater Workshop by the Lucy Moses School. And at TADA! Youth Theater, the themed weeks (we’re especially intrigued by (“Broadway Bieber”) culminate in an original camper composition.

Art

Unique in its location, we think Children’s Museum of the Arts’ Summer Art Colony on Governors Island is an escape all in its own. Kids can explore an NYC treasure while creating a few artistic keepsakes to take home. At HiArt’s Culture Bugs Surreal Summer Camp, creative types are introduced to the world of surrealism and bookmaking. Escape the heat and head to Kids at Art for half-day workshops offering the best in mask-making, clay molding and papier-mâché technique. And Make Meaning’s Creative Escapes program lets campers go on an artistic staycation, drawing inspiration from global cultures and test tubes.

Cooking

Addicted to the Food Network? With 13 delectable themes, Taste Buds is offering a new Iron Chef Camp this summer where young gourmands will learn how to whip up treats and compete with their fellow campers. If you’re looking to instill a sense of food responsibility in your child, consider Butter Beans Food and Garden Camp so they can explore farmers markets, create their own sweet jam and write a cookbook utilizing a farm-to-table philosophy. Home Cooking New York’s summer camp in Chelsea is a stellar introduction to kitchen basics as well as to cuisines from all around the globe.

Music

Stationed in Chelsea, the Kids at Work summer camp offers up an awesome blend of age- appropriate music and artistic activities for your groovy kiddos to engage in. Perfect for preschoolers, the Diller-Quaile School of Music is offering an Early Childhood Preschool Music and Art Program this June. Take in summertime music, engage in creative play and catch special concerts all before heading home. If you have more of a rocker on your hands, Day Jams lets rhythmic children learn and perfect their skills on guitar, bass, drums vocals and keyboard under the tutelage of a music pro.

The tennis bubble of Sutton East Tennis continues to cover the Queensboro Oval.

For much of the year, the Queensboro Oval park under the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge is rented out to a concessionaire to operate a tennis bubble. But for the past several years, every spring the giant bubble is dismantled to make way for softball and baseball leagues. This year, however, the Parks Department has decided to shave six weeks off the ball-playing season and give that time to the Sutton East Tennis Club, a move that has some Upper East Side residents seeing red.

Two years ago, the Parks Department backed off of a plan to allow the tennis bubble to remain operational all year after strong opposition from the community, allowing sports groups access to the space for four months every summer. The community didn’t find out about the recently determined extended tennis season until it was announced at a Community Board 8 committee meeting two weeks ago, and the full board strongly condemned the move, resolving to ask the Parks Department to extend the baseball permit season by six weeks into the fall to compensate for the lost time.

“I feel that it is a slap in the face to the parks committee, to CB 8, to the users of the field and to the people of the community board, not only 8 but 6, and other residents of the city who have seen this grow and grow and grow—this beast taking over a public park in your community,” said resident Bradley Cohen at the meeting.

Cohen said he couldn’t get an answer for weeks on why his request for a permit for ball playing was delayed, even though the Parks Department was in the middle of negotiating this new arrangement.

Parks Department Assistant Commissioner Betsy Smith, who has agreed to attend the upcoming CB 8 Parks Committee meeting on Thursday, April 26 to answer questions, said in a statement that the reason the Department decided to extend the tennis season was that “the Sutton East Tennis Club had already made a substantial investment to convert the bubble to a year-round operation based on the execution of the contract amendment and its registration by the comptroller.

“It was therefore prudent to address the legitimate concerns raised by the concessionaire, and we reached an agreement with them to extend the indoor season by six weeks,” she said. She also called the ball fields “vastly underused.”

A Parks Department spokesperson said that the tennis bubble will be able to stay up until June 15 every year through 2017, when their current contract expires, and that they do not plan on offering extensions of ball field permits through the fall.

“I object to the Parks Department citing the investment that the tennis club put into the bubble, because the tennis club knows full well how the community feels about the availability of the park to the neighborhood. Calling for the need to be compensated for making improvements is disingenuous,” said board member Sarah Chu at the meeting, a sentiment that many others echoed.

The Community Board also voted to ask the Parks Department to require that the tennis club restore the park to its original state when they dismantle the bubble, and many members expressed dismay over the way the Department handled the entire situation.

Geoffrey Croft, who runs the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, said it’s particularly frustrating because many community members fought so hard against the tennis bubble being allowed to stay up year round and thought they had secured their summer space.

“We successfully fought back against that, and now we find out about another underhanded move, that the city is trying to give this guy a deal because his contract from two years ago fell apart,” Croft said.

The “Wimbledon Experience” runs through June 25, and features several activities. The most prominent of these is a miniature, grass tennis court, a replica of the surface used during Wimbledon. The court is staffed with tennis instructors who give walk-on lessons to passersby.
Behind the court, a large television screen broadcasts coverage of the tournament. To view the matches, spectators sit in stadium-style bleachers or folding chairs.
The majority of those at Rockefeller Center were businesspeople who were on their lunch breaks. They were also accompanied by several parents who had brought their children to the event. In some cases, pedestrians were attracted to the unique set-up.

“I saw the court from across the street, and having played tennis in high school, I was very interested,” said one passerby on his lunch break.

“It is about the taking of public property and making it private, and that is a consideration that really demands a public process that is much more involved than what has taken place here,” Wymore said during the public session of Community Board 8’s parks committee meeting. “At face value, tennis in the park sounds great. But when you really think about it, it is more like putting a Post-It note on a Picasso. You really have to think about what the impacts of this are long term, what precedents it sets and what are the underlying rationales for making this happen.”

The West Side community board’s parks and preservation committee has given the tennis bubble proposal a cool reception during the past few months, and is scheduled to take up the matter again at a May 13 meeting.

But the East Side board’s parks committee has been more open to constructing four, 35-foot opaque bubbles over all but two of the courts. In February 2009, the committee agreed to support the bubbles in “concept” and approved the Parks Department’s plans to “hire an outside organization to develop, maintain and operate the proposed indoor facility in Central Park.”

At the April 15 meeting, however, Board 8’s parks committee backed off its support and decided to wait before taking a position. The committee’s resolution also requested “the speedy receipt of additional information from the Parks Department.”

“I am thinking that the resolution that passed in ’09 was probably passed in haste and in error,” said Board 8 parks committee member Michele Birnbam.

According to the proposal, the two uncovered courts would be used to store equipment, including two generators for light, heat and compressed air to keep the bubbles inflated, as well as four 2,300-gallon diesel fuel tanks to power the generators. Currently, the Parks Department allows free play on the courts during the off-season.

The most common concerns about the plan have been the increased fees, which would range from $30 to $100 per hour (by comparison, the hourly rates at Alley Pond Tennis Center in Queens range from $25 to $58 per hour, and indoor rates at Prospect Park in Brooklyn only go as high as $70 per hour); unsightly 35-foot-high bubbles; and adverse environmental effects from the diesel generators.

Central Park tennis courts. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

The bubble would be in place from November to April, allowing people to play comfortably throughout the colder months, according to the Department of Parks and Recreation. But some court users are concerned that construction of the bubble will affect the upcoming summer tennis season, and they are wondering why the proposal has not yet appeared in a public forum.

Council Member Gale Brewer wrote a letter to the Parks Department and to the Central Park Conservancy on behalf of concerned constituents.

“There are many people who play tennis [on those courts],” Brewer said in an interview. “They feel very strongly about the tennis courts, take good care of them, love the sport, and love playing there.”

As of Feb. 1, the letter had not yet received a response, but Brewer’s office said the Parks Department did reach out to Community Board 7, which is scheduled to discuss the proposal at its Feb. 11 Parks and Preservation Committee.

Several years ago, Board 7 ruled against a similar proposal for a tennis bubble over the courts in Riverside Park, near West 96th Street. That proposal was vetoed partly because it included an increase in the rates that players would pay to use the space.

Currently, the Parks Department allows free play during the off-season in the Central Park courts. Adding a bubble would introduce a fee that is still under negotiation, but hourly rates at similar indoor tennis facilities range from $28 to $56, depending on the day and time.

A number of tennis buffs do brave the cold and play for free. Marlys and Bill Ray, who were playing in 33-degree weather Feb. 1, have a yearly $20 senior permit to play tennis during the regular season. When winter comes, they move outdoors for free.

“We’re hoping, whatever they do, they will not affect the all-weather courts,” Marlys Ray said. “I’d rather play outdoors. It’s more fun. Once you move around, it’s lovely.”

Cristina DeLuca, a spokesperson for the department, explained that the department has not yet gone public with the proposal because it is still in early stages, with contract negotiations just beginning. The department issued a request for proposals (RFP) in March 2009 and has identified the successful contractor. Per department policy, DeLuca said the contractor could not be identified until negotiations are finalized.

“The idea to construct a tennis bubble in Central Park is one we have considered for a number of years,” she wrote in an email. “Constructing a bubble over the courts enables us to provide increased recreational activities in the park during the winter and [to provide] revenue for the city.”

DeLuca said that bubble construction would not affect the summer tennis season: the project would begin mid-November 2010 and end late March 2011. Once the basic bubble structure has been added, it could be converted quickly for indoor or outdoor play. The bubble would not affect the cost of using the courts in the summer, which is $100 per year for adults or $7 for a day pass.

“In the winter, when the courts are not available to the public, the concessionaire will bubble the courts and charge a fee for the use of the indoor courts,” she said.

This is the same policy that exists at other indoor tennis facilities that the department operates. Moreover, other outdoor tennis facilities in Manhattan would still be available for free play during winter months.

DeLuca said that a hearing will probably be held this spring, and a draft contract will be available for public review prior to the hearing.

“The season’s been going well so far,” he said. “We had a great fall. I can’t be more optimistic. We have a great group of guys together, really hard working. I have no doubts that I’m going to come back healthy and play well. We have a great vibe on our team right now, and we’re in a winning mood.”

Curtis Roby is captain of the Dartmouth men’s tennis team. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Roby, a native Upper East Sider and graduate of the Trinity School, picked up tennis when he was 11 and has been playing at a high level ever since, though he feels that he didn’t truly hit his peak until college. During his first two years at Dartmouth, he finished 30-20 in singles and 27-21 in doubles. Now the team captain, he’s focused on maintaining that winning record.

“College sports is certainly a lot more intense than what I was used to in high school,” Roby said. “Being on a team and facing so much pressure every match is a little different, but I definitely embrace that.”

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Cross Country—Of all the fall sports, none had more locals competing in college than cross country. The honor roll of runners started in the city, where Natoya Bromfield (LaGuardia) finished 16th for Hunter College at the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championships. Former high school teammates Khrystyna Uhlitskykh and Elizabeth Messina were 21st and 36th, respectively, competing for Brooklyn College. Caroline Chung completed the local LaGuardia contingent, finishing 43rd for Lehman, where Shane King (Environmental Studies) was on the men’s roster. Jeannette Dobosz (Martin Luther King) of St. Francis was 63rd at the Northeastern Conference Championships. Jena Ko, the only other LaGuardia graduate running, was 21st at the SUNY Tech Invitational and 66th at the Liberty League Championships for William Smith.

In the Ivy League, UPenn’s Jeff Weinstein (Dalton) was 65th at the Iona Meet of Champions and 88th at the Heptagonal Championships. Teammate Joe Myrie (Collegiate) placed 113th at the rather pessimistically named Fordham Fiasco. Brian Hill (Regis) was 29th for Harvard at a dual meet with Yale. Dylan Trotzuk was also on the Crimson’s roster, while Dwayne Alexis, another Collegiate alumnus, ran for Dartmouth.

Other former Collegiate runners included Villanova’s Chris Williams, Hamilton’s Hashem Zikry and Ges Adams, who was a captain for Vassar and placed sixth at the Steven Invitational and 43rd at the Albany Invitational. Among his teammates were Rafael Ricaurte (Regis), who finished 21st at the Stevens meet, and William Healy (Loyola), who nabbed 112th place at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals.

The running alumni from Hunter were also numerous. Dan Stair was 120th at the Main Line Invitational for Swarthmore, while Sam Ghitleman competed for Oberlin and finished 14th at the Wooster Invitational and 77th at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. At Tufts, Kirsten Brown was 67th at the Trinity Invitational. Her teammate Tina Milburn (Chapin) finished inside the top 200 at the Boston Mayor’s Cup.

Two Brearley alumnae ran for Bowdoin. Skyler Walley placed 37th in a dual meet against Bates, and Christina Argueta placed 44th at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships, 54th at the New England Division 3 Championships and fifth in the Maine State Championships. She was also named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team. Sophie Haas, another Brearley graduate, competed for Grinnell, finishing 166th at the Wartburg Invitational.

Haas’ teammate Sasha Dunbar (Beacon) was 21st at the Midwest Conference Championships, and 126th at the NCAA Central Regionals. Sarah Wenger, who also formerly ran for Beacon, was 11th at the Bard Invitational for SUNY New Paltz.

Luke Willert (Dalton) and Brandon Whitaker (St. Agnes) both ran well as freshmen. The former was 74th at the West Region Preview Meet for Pomona, while the latter was 57th at the Stevens Invitational for Concordia.

Finally, a trio of seniors wrapped up their college careers well. SUNY Old Westbury’s Hakiem George (Life Sciences) earned 39th place at Stevens, Natalia Drozdiak (UNIS) was 18th at the Purchase Invitational for Bard and Bucknell’s Baron Willeford (Columbia Prep) was 31st at the Patriot League Championships and 116th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals.

Volleyball—Once again, CUNY schools benefited tremendously from local Manhattan volleyball players. At York, Norman Thomas alumnae Emely Vasquez and Sashe Almonte made big impacts as freshmen. Vasquez started 24 matches and recorded 36 kills, 13 assists, 26 aces, 122 digs and nine blocks, while Almonte started 16 matches and produced 20 kills, 21 aces, 67 digs and 13 blocks. Another Norman Thomas graduate, Rodesha Donaldson, played in 35 matches for Hunter, tallying 25 kills, 20 assists, 41 aces and 165 digs. City Tech’s Stephanie Novas (Art and Design) started all 18 matches and had 28 kills, 16 assists, 14 aces and 21 digs. And at Brooklyn College, Thea Schlieben (Rudolf Steiner) played 21 matches and recorded 22 kills, 16 assists, 14 aces and 69 digs.

Freshmen Adelynn Shreffler and Hannah Cassius competed at upstate colleges. Shreffler (Brearley), who played nine times for Skidmore, notched 11 digs, while Cassius (LaGuardia) played 17 times at Vassar and produced 28 assists, five aces and 63 digs.

Farther afield, there were four locals playing in the NESCAC. They included Amherst’s Mary Reiser (Nightingale), Connecticut College’s Jamie Honohan (Marymount), Middlebury’s Charlotte Heilbronn (Spence) and Bowdoin’s Victoria Edelman (Trinity). Honohan had nine digs in seven matches, Heilbronn recorded 10 digs in four matches and Edelman played 27 times and contributed 120 kills, 30 assists, 10 aces, 34 digs and 51 blocks.

Out in Ohio, Lizzie Orfaly (Fieldston) was a libero for Oberlin and put together nine aces and 113 digs in 23 matches. At rival Kenyon, Meggie Strew (Trevor Day) had 10 aces and 15 digs.

Football—In varsity play, Peter Eames (Riverdale) had the only statistical contribution, playing in three games for Hamilton and breaking up a pass. Three others didn’t get into a game but were on their teams’ rosters: Greg Barton (Dalton) at Washington and Lee, Terence Mooney (Hunter) at Kenyon and Columbia’s Dan Cohen (Horace Mann).

In sprint football, David Jean-Baptiste (Regis) had one catch for 24 yards, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble for Princeton. The Marin Brothers (Riverdale) played at UPenn, with Jordan getting one tackle and Jason running 130 yards on 19 carries.

Other Sports—Mount Holyoke’s Nicole Nounou (Horace Mann) played one game for the field hockey team. And at Vassar Hal Moore (Hunter) Guillermo Farias (UNIS) and Matthew Elisofon (Trevor Day) were members of the rugby squad.