BALL FIELD BECOMES TENNIS COURTS

The East Side boys of summer are losing one of the few local public fields to play baseball. For three months out of the year, the Queensboro Oval, located underneath its namesake bridge, operated as a free field for little leagues or a game of catch. For the rest of the year, the Sutton East Tennis Club has been covering the oval with a plastic bubble to protect eight red, clay courts for tennis. But the city"s Parks Department has decided to let the club operate year round. â??With the lack of tennis in the district, that was a judgment [the parks department] made and our people are just thrilled, said Tony Scolnick, director of tennis at Sutton Place Tennis Club. â??For years, they were asking if the season could be extended. Finally their wishes have come true. The department sought approval from the Franchise and Concession Review Committee, which regulates private companies" use of city-owned property. Last November, the committee voted to extend the contract with the tennis club to 12 months. â??It"s the only ball field in the area, but I believe it was only used by the little league group, Scolnick said. â??They"re happy to be placed somewhere else because the playing conditions [on clay courts] weren"t ideal for baseball. Under the contract, the Yorkville Youth Athletic Association, which primarily uses the public ball fields, will now play on a new field on Randall"s Island. A Parks Department spokesperson called the year-round contract a â??win-win for the youth athletic group and the city, which will receive a minimum of $1.9 million this year from York Avenue Tennis, LLC, the club"s license holder. That figure will increase over the years. â??Yorkville Athletic is thrilled to be moving to a new field, Parks Department spokesperson Cristina DeLuca said in an emailed statement, â??and the city receives extra revenue during a difficult economic climate. The contract also calls for the club to offer access to the courts for free Parks Department-sponsored youth programs for eight hours a week, and to the Yorkville Youth Athletic Association for four hours a week. In the summer, those access times would increase. Despite the concessions, some residents are lamenting the loss of park land in a neighborhood with limited public space. Community Board 8 member Matthew Bondy, who had used the ball field as a boy, issued a strongly worded email in support of keeping the field open during the summer. â??Will it still be open to anyone wanting to play catch with their kids at times when games aren"t being played? Bondy wrote. â??Or will it be commercialized, and coveted by only those who can afford a tennis racket and the fee?