UPDATE 11/20:

Thank you to everyone for voicing your view on the proposed bubble - we are thrilled to say NYC Parks Concession actually made an error and is looking for a food/beverage concession not to enclose the courts and privatize recreation. We were also told that the RFP does not mean a proposal will be chosen. This type of concession is something that our group would support, as it is not traditional work done by NYC Parks and would be a value add for recreation. We do hope that these funds go to NYC Parks directly, especially as Parks still receives less than 1% of the City budget (other US city parks get 2-3%).

The NYC Parks Concessions Unit had a miscommunication and presented the idea of the bubble in error. Within 3 hours of our group reaching out Wednesday morning, the Queens Borough President Richards' Office Parks Liaison, Laura, had not received the 40 days notice of the RFP and helped to unravel the issue, that it is for a food concession. The CB11Q informed me that they had been working with Councilwoman Paladino, who is also opposed to this type of construction. 

Thank you to everyone that signed and shared, amazing to have over 630 signatures online in just a few days, added to paper signatures we have 670! Our organization will be exploring the option to request that Crocheron & John Golden Park to be designated as a Scenic Landmark by the NYC Landmark Preservation Committee. If you are knowledgeable about the Landmark Preservation process, a great writer or researcher, or know someone that is, please get in touch with us.

We are grateful to everyone who signed, shared, commented, and helped us to show that our community would prefer not to have a bubble. Thank you! And thank you to the officials and their dedicated staff, especially the QBP Parks Liaison Laura for her quick action.

North Eastern Queens has some the best parks in New York City, these open secrets include Crocheron's Tennis & Pickle Ball Courts. People come from across Queens and Nassau County to enjoy the publicly run courts with free pickle ball courts and reasonably priced tennis. Our local Councilwoman, Vickie Paladino, has given the park large amounts of capital and discretionary funding (including for the recent renovation of the pickle ball courts). Arguably, The City of New York, along with, NYC Parks Concession, has greatly undervalued the park. Funds and attention from NYC Parks goes to flagship parks, but now is now looking to use Crocheron as a vehicle to generate more income for the City.

The NYC Parks Concession team, on behalf of the City's economic portfolio  looks to squeeze more out of our park. This is after years of work on Crocheron's paths being kicked down the line. For 3 years, it has been 'it will be next season,' our district has some of the largest parks in Queens, but we have just one gardener. It is egregious of the City to propose this without putting the necessary work into the park. In addition, money generated from NYC Parks' Concessions go back to the City's general fund (The Center for an Urban Future, 2025).

Comparative Courts in NYC - Pricing People Out

1. While some Community Boards, like CB 1 in Astoria (Queens Chronicle 10/30/25), have worked with the community and asked NYC Parks for this type, the Community Board's Park Committee Members were largely opposed to this, especially as it was a 40 day courtesy notice.
2. Nearby indoor bubbles, such as in Alley Pond, charge $31-$67 per hour for court use, prices that make recreation unaffordable for many local families and seniors (please note that Alley Pond is the comparison that NYC Parks Concession used during the meeting).
3. It took years for neighbors of the Queensboro Oval courts to bring back fair pricing, Market rate allowed pricing to go as high as $255 an hour in 2017 (NY Post, 2017).
4. Leasing the Queensboro Oval to a private operator became so bad that a CM Ben Kallos has a whole page about the fight to regain some control of the bubble (BenKallos.com).
5. The McCarren Park residents were also against the proposed bubble, also on their newly renovated courts (Brooklyn Paper, 2011). 2024 pricing from the McCarren Park Tennis's website (ty internet archive) shows that it is between $45 and $90 for an hour) - current pricing unavailable on the McCarren park Tennis website or on NYC Parks Website. McCarren Park Tennis is open from 6 am - 12 am everyday, which if mirrored in Bayside, would greatly impact the neighborhood.
6. McCarren Park Tennis Bubble was given a public hearing - why are we no longer afforded that right?(Brooklyn Paper, 2011). Instead the CB11Q and Oueens BP are given 40 days notices that the RFP will go out.
   
7. Crocheron does not need a bubble over its courts, as some City neighborhoods may see a bubble barrier to keep players from a polluted environment, a positive mentioned by a New Yorker in the 2019 Parks Committee Meeting. Crocheron is in the middle of a lush parkland, acres away from the nearby highways, with hundreds of trees cleaning the air.

Preserving Crocheron's Historic Charm

Bubbling over the tennis and pickle ball courts will greatly alter the park landscape. How could it not? It is basically inserting a large white bubble that will be visible from much of the park. The RFP will also include the ability to reimagine he park's Tennis House is historic, built during the 1930s New Deal construction of Crocheron. NYC Parks Concession did not note any limitation to the reconfiguring of the interior of the Tennis House. In fact, the Tennis House was recently painted as well, after what was probably over a decade of not being used. Like the courts, recently refinished work paid by the tax payers is being auctioned off in the RFP process.

An article about the opening of the park in 1937 mentions that the tennis house had a large lounge and showers. While this is long gone and replaced with offices, the interior area has had some utilizations by the public. The large center meeting place for a lecture, yoga, and to host the On This Land historic photographs of the park.

In a couple of years some offices will soon be empty, as the workers are moving to the to be renovated building in O'Rourke Park. Instead of looking to use those spaces for public good, the City would rather use them as part of the lease for the concessions. NYC Parks Concessions also had no idea or restraints on what the proposed concession vendor could do to renovate the place. New Deal Era buildings, which are candidates for being Landmark Status Structures, have not yet been designated as such. On the accord, the park itself should receive landmark status, just as Bryant Park did in 1974 (Untapped New York, 2011).

Environmental and Landscape Changes

These trees provide a beautiful view from the courts, especially during autumn. Often trees are just collateral damage for projects that can afford to pay to replace them.

Sign Petition to Keep Our Park Publicly Manage and Open!

Please sign the petition to tell our elected officials and NYC Parks Concession to keep Crocheron publicly run and open! Our tax dollars recently went to thousands in renovations for the courts, newly sealed, with pickle ball nets and lines too. Finally, the NYC Parks Concession system is set up to enrich the city's larger general funds. It does not go back into NYC Parks and especially not Crocheron's.