Research & sources

The receipts, in full.

Supporting material behind the petition. The RFP for the Astoria Park tennis concession was officially issued on June 12, 2026 — see the homepage for the key points. Everything below draws on real winter-bubble concessions already operating in NYC public parks: McCarren in Brooklyn, plus Prospect, Stadium, and Cunningham. These are the best real-world references for what a bubble at Astoria would look like in practice.

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What we'd lose

Plenty of paid courts. Almost no free ones.

Within 30 minutes of Astoria, there are 80+ paid indoor tennis courts in winter — at private clubs, public-private bubbles, and the USTA's national center. Indoor winter tennis is well covered. What's scarce is the opposite: a free, public option. Just 24 free courts remain in winter — and 14 of them, more than half, are at Astoria Park. If the RFP goes through and those 14 become paid, the free winter courts within 30 minutes are cut by more than half.

105

tennis courts within 30 min of Astoria.

54/ 51%

Free & public in the permit season (Apr–Nov).

24/ 23%

Free & public in winter. 14 of those 24 are Astoria Park.

Free & public in winter

Almost everything north or west of Astoria becomes paid-only.

Astoria ParkQueens · outdoor · more than half of all free winter tennis near Astoria

14 courts

Flushing FieldsFlushing · outdoor · ~20 min away

8 courts

Travers ParkJackson Heights · outdoor · ~15 min away

2 courts

Astoria Heights PlaygroundQueens · 3 courts · nets removed in winter

0 courts

Sutton East (Queensboro Oval)Manhattan · 8 courts bubbled · paid

0 courts

McCarren ParkBrooklyn · 7 courts bubbled · paid

0 courts

Sportime Randall's IslandManhattan · 30 courts · permanent paid

0 courts

USTA Billie Jean King CenterQueens · 33 courts · pay-to-play year-round

0 courts

Free in winter ↓ from 54 free courts in summer 24 courts

Paid indoor options in winter

All within ~30 minutes of Astoria. No shortage.

USTA Billie Jean King CenterFlushing · 33 courts · 15–20 minOn public parkland

$42–82/hr

Sportime Randall's Island30 courts · 5–10 min via RFKOn public parkland

$70–200/hr*

Sutton East Tennis ClubQueensboro Oval · 8 courts · 10–15 minOn public parkland

$65–125/hr

McCarren Tennis CenterWilliamsburg · 7 courts · 20–25 minOn public parkland

$80–100/hr

Roosevelt Island Racquet Club12 clay courts · 10–15 minOn public land (RIOC)

$68–250/hr*

Court 16 LICQueens Plaza · up to 6 courts · 10–15 minPrivate building

$120/hr*

CityView Racquet ClubLong Island City · 10–15 min · rates are per personPrivate building

$30–42/person/hr*

Paid in winter 5 of 7 are on public parkland — same model as the Astoria RFP 90+ courts

* Plus membership: Sportime ~$150–200/mo; Court 16 $525/yr; Roosevelt Island ~$205/mo + $750 initiation; CityView $425–$525/mo for unrestricted access. Private lessons run $105–$300/hr across these facilities. Sources: facility websites; NYC Comptroller audit of USTA lease; NYC Parks concession listings; RIOC.

The pattern hidden in the paid column

Look at the orange tags. 5 of the 7 paid options near Astoria are on public parkland — leased or licensed to private operators under the same NYC Parks concession model proposed for Astoria. USTA: 99-year lease on Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. Sportime: NYC Parks concession on Randall's Island. Sutton East: NYC Parks concession on the Queensboro Oval. McCarren: NYC Parks concession on McCarren Park. Roosevelt Island: a RIOC concession on city/state-owned land.

Only Court 16 (a converted warehouse on Queens Plaza South) and CityView (a private commercial racquet club in LIC) are purely private buildings. Everything else used to be public, like Astoria Park is today.

The Astoria bubble doesn't fill a gap. It widens one.

The RFP requires at least 8 of Astoria's 14 courts to be bubbled — and Parks scores bids on Capital Investment, so larger structures are advantaged. Moving those courts from the free column into the paid column — a column that's already overflowing with options, most of them on land NYC neighbors used to be able to play on for free — drops the share of free winter tennis within 30 minutes of Astoria from 23% to roughly 10% — cutting the free options by more than half.

The scarce thing is not indoor tennis. The scarce thing is a public, year-round park.

Clearing up the confusion

Non-profit vs. for-profit at McCarren — they are not the same entity.

In recent community board discussions there has been confusion, with some suggesting the bubbled courts at McCarren are run by a neighborhood non-profit. This is false. We need to separate the community advocates from the corporate concessionaires.

Non-profit · community-led

McCarren Tennis Association

A grassroots, community-led non-profit. Back in 2010, long before the bubble, they were the ones who successfully organized and secured USTA/Amex grants to resurface the public courts.

For-profit · concession LLC

McCarren Tennis Center Partners LLC

A private, for-profit business that was later handed the 15-year concession to run the winter bubble. A commercial LLC designed to generate millions of dollars in gross receipts.

When we talk about the bubble, we are talking about a commercial LLC. We must not confuse grassroots community organizing with corporate privatization.

McCarren pricing

What the public actually pays once the bubble goes up.

McCarren Tennis Center did not publish a public rate sheet. Rates below were provided via email.

Hourly court reservations

Monday – Friday

6am – 2pm$50/hr

2pm – 6pm$66/hr

6pm – 10pm$77/hr

10pm – 12am$50/hr

Hourly court reservations

Saturday – Sunday

6am – 8am$61/hr

8am – 7pm$100/hr

7pm – 12am$66/hr

Lessons

Per-hour, per player

Private$193/hr

Semi-private$209/hr

Group private (3–4 players)$220/hr

Private lesson with director$300/hr

Classes & clinics

Per class, per person

Clinics$110

Cardio Tennis$72

Big Bangers$83

Express Clinics$72

Serve Clinics$36

McCarren schedule · April 4–11, 2026

Vendor classes fill prime time. What's left, you can rarely book.

Eight consecutive days, every court, from McCarren Tennis Center's own public booking system. Green and pink are vendor-run clinics and cardio classes. Gray "Reserved" blocks are private lessons or paid court rentals — not open bookings. The white gaps that remain are what's actually available to the public, and they vanish within seconds of the 7-day booking window opening.

McCarren court schedule for Saturday April 4, 2026 — all 7 courts, 6am to midnight, showing vendor clinics, cardio classes and reserved blocks filling most of the day. — **Sat Apr 4**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Sunday April 5, 2026 — clinics and reserved blocks across all 7 courts. — **Sun Apr 5**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Monday April 6, 2026 — weekday prime-time dominated by vendor clinics and reserved blocks. — **Mon Apr 6**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Tuesday April 7, 2026. — **Tue Apr 7**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Wednesday April 8, 2026. — **Wed Apr 8**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Thursday April 9, 2026. — **Thu Apr 9**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Friday April 10, 2026. — **Fri Apr 10**All 7 courts

McCarren court schedule for Saturday April 11, 2026. — **Sat Apr 11**All 7 courts

Adult clinics Cardio Tennis Cardio / Big Bangers Reserved (private lesson or rental) Open to book

Source: app.courtreserve.com/Online/Reservations/Index/10243 — McCarren Tennis Center's public CourtReserve instance, captured April 2026. Unaltered screenshots; anyone can visit the URL and verify a given day's grid. Schedules are published roughly 7 days in advance.

NYC public tennis privatization schedule

How every bubbled court in the city compares.

Start dates, end dates, durations, rate sheets and lesson pricing for the four primary bubbled concessions in NYC public parks.

Public park	Bubble up	Bubble down	Duration	Court rental / hour	Lessons & classes
McCarren Tennis CenterMcCarren Park, Brooklyn	Mid-October	May	7 months	$50 – $100/hr No public rate sheet. Weekday 6am–2pm $50 · 2–6pm $66 · 6–10pm $77 · 10pm–12am $50. Weekend 6–8am $61 · 8am–7pm $100 · 7pm–12am $66.	Lessons Private · $193/hr Semi-private · $209/hr Group (3–4) · $220/hr With Director · $300/hr Classes Clinic · $110 · Cardio · $72 Big Bangers · $83 · Express · $72 Serve Clinic · $36
Prospect Park Tennis CenterProspect Park, Brooklyn	Mid-October (approx.)	First week of May (weather permitting)	6.5 months	$44 – $82/hr Oct 20, 2025 – May 3, 2026 rates. Mon–Thu 7–10pm $82. Mon–Fri 6–8am & 10–11pm $44.	Indoor lessons (Staff / Head Pro) Mon–Fri 6–9am · $102 / $107 Mon–Fri 9am–4pm · $107 / $112 Mon–Fri 4–7pm · $110 / $117 Mon–Fri 7–10pm · $117 / $122 Sat–Sun 9am–12pm · $122 / $127 Sat–Sun 12–7pm · $117 / $122
Stadium Tennis CenterMill Pond Park, Bronx	Roughly beginning of October	End of March / beginning of April	6 months	$55 – $120/hr Weekdays 3–9pm $120 (most expensive). Weekdays 8am–3pm $70 reserved / $55 unreserved. Weekends 8am–6pm $120.	Private lesson (1 hour) Staff Pro · $200–$220 Senior/Head Pro · $225–$245 Master Pro · $250–$275 Semi-private (per person) Staff · $125–$135 Head · $135–$150 Master · $150–$165
Cunningham TennisCunningham Park, Queens	Sometime in October	April 27	6.5 months	Indoor $32 – $62/hr · Outdoor $35/hr Most expensive indoor: Mon–Fri 4–10pm & weekend 8am–4pm · $62. Least expensive indoor: Mon–Fri 6–9am · $32.	Summer programs Pick Up Tennis · $235 / 9 weeks · $35/day Adult Instructional Clinics · $235 for 1 hr sessions · 9 weeks Drill & Play · $420 for 1.5 hr · 9 weeks Cardio Tennis · $25/class

Data gathered April 2026. Sourced directly from each concessionaire via email and published rate pages.

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