Pickleball Civil War Now Rages on the UES’s Carl Schurz Park

In a large but close-knit community of pickleball players who frequent the courts in Carl Schurz Park, disputes over how to manage long wait times, skill differentials, and irritated neighbors have opened up a rift that one member has called “a very passionate family argument.”

At the heart of the issue is that while there are hundreds of “picklers” as they are known, who play there regularly, the park offers only three courts. Arriving players must stack their paddles in a queue to reserve a spot. They are often labeled with its owner’s skill rating, ranging from 1.0 to above 5.0, allowing picklers to create matchups of their choice.

Some players, particularly more competitive players, want to carve out a time in the week to reserve the courts for advanced games only. “This is really about people wanting wait times to be proportional to the game that they get,” said Brad Hershenson, a pickler and son of Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright. “No one wants to wait a whole hour only to get a mismatched game.”

Advanced picklers have complained that the current labeling system is flawed due to some people overestimating their abilities or putting their paddles down in higher-rated groups, but pickler Jeanine Beck thinks that the crux of the issue lies in bad communication. “People just don’t know how to communicate anymore,” she said. “If people want a certain kind of game and someone from a different level tries to put their paddle down, they should just point out to them, kindly and respectfully, that there is a potential mismatch. You don’t need to close a court off to resolve this.”

Jeanine and other players accept wait times that can sometimes last for an hour as long as the system maintains a sense of equity, and strongly oppose the introduction of so-called “challenge courts” for advanced players. “We support open courts for all,” said Jeanine. “This is a public, family park, and no one should get preferential treatment.” According to Albert, known to the community at large as the “Pickleball Doctor” for his role in creating and maintaining the courts, a majority of the 3,000 people in the TeamReach chat for UES picklers hold this position.

Albert believes that the part of the problem began in the cold, less crowded winter months when advanced picklers were generally the only ones playing. “They effectively turned them into challenge courts, and it wasn’t such a big deal then because it wasn’t as crowded,” he said. “But then other players started coming back in spring, and even more people joined the community as well, so advanced players who were used to playing whenever they wanted and however long they wanted were not happy.”

For now, advocates for challenge courts have tried to avoid long wait times and potentially lopsided matches by playing early in the morning. But the sounds of ball-striking at as early as 6:00am have annoyed local residents. Among them are some members of the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, which funds and maintains the park. “The advanced players want to reserve the courts for themselves in the mornings, but that’s not possible,” said Albert. “The noise is annoying a lot of powerful people, and they’re starting to organize. We don’t want to have the park conservancy, of all people, against us.”

“If there’s a major conflict with the residents, the Parks Department can take the courts away as quickly as they gave it to us,” added Jeanine.

In an attempt to cool tempers and find solutions, the picklers held a meeting Oct. 1 in the Carl Schurz courts, with New York City pickleball ambassador Katherine Hedden moderating discussion and taking minutes. Upper East Side pickleball leader Amanda Johnson was also present.

Speeches against the introduction of challenge courts often cited equity and the importance of community. “The Parks Department says on its website that their mission is to grow, maintain, and program a world-class park system prioritizing equity, access, safety, and nature... with their commitment to equity undergirding all that they do,” said one speaker. “And what does equity mean? It means no bias, no favoritism, no matter how advanced of a player you are.”

“Even though I was a new player and beginner, everyone was nice to me and spoke to me and told me how things worked,” said another speaker. “I played my way up to a 3.0 rating thanks to how open this community was, and I would hate for that to change.”

Those who spoke in favor of challenge courts defended their proposal as a step towards fairness in a system that they allege is biased against more advanced picklers. “There’s so much division going on over an idea that I don’t think is unreasonable,” said one of them. “There is a culture of playing above one’s level, which is unfair for advanced people who are waiting to play an advanced game.” Their arguments were sometimes met with interruptions from other attendees, with Hedden stepping in to restore order.

“All we want is a couple of hours per week (“No!” shouted several other audience members) so that the best players can play against each other without dealing with such a long wait time,” said a speaker who faced particular animosity. “We all wait!” someone else interjected.

Some speakers pointed out that there are other parks in the city with more than three courts and as many as eight that do have challenge courts. (And of course Wollman Rink in Central Park converted its ice rink to pickleball courts which charge by the hour. But on Oct. 28th, Wollman rink is slated to convert back to ice. ) “I come here to these public courts to play for fun and camaraderie, not for competition,” said Gil, Albert’s brother. “If I want to have competition, I can go to courts in other parks.”

One issue that most picklers agreed on was the need for a fourth court to shorten waiting times. “We hope that at this meeting, [Hedden] heard why we need a fourth court, and will push for it at [the Parks Department],” said Jeanine.

Of course, that is likely to anger other area residents who didn’t want to have any pickleball courts because they felt it infringed on the one-time open park space that kids used to use for everything from frisbee tossing, roller hockey games to having a catch with a baseball with friends.

“Do they want to take more space from children,” asked Virginia Randall, an UES resident who had opposed the Parks Department’s initial painting of courts with nets on what was an open playground. “I know people who played hockey in that space. And what’s up with the Halloween Howl?” she asked, referring to an annual dog Halloween parade.

Despite some of the disruptions, many of the attendees at the Oct. 1 event said that it was an important step forward. “I thought it was respectful, cordial, and everyone shared what they wanted to share,” said Bradley. “It’s still early in the process, but we are making process for a system that works for better players and for the community as a whole.”

“Us having the meeting was a very positive thing,” said Jeanine. “Pickleball has really brought a wonderful community together, and this meeting was important for finding a resolution.”

Though people have high hopes, the meeting acted as an open forum rather than a definitive policy-setter. Any resolution would depend on the agreement of picklers who, as of the meeting, did not appear willing to concede much ground either way.