Pickleball
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (fifth from right) is flanked by St. Vartan Park pickleball players during the mayor’s visit to and pickleball play in the park on March 15, 2023
The fun and inclusive St. Vartan Park pickleball community uses courts on either side of the handball wall on Second Avenue between East 35th Street and East 36th Street. The courts are also used for handball matches.
Pickleball is played on July 12, 2022, on St. Vartan Park courts on Second Avenue near East 36th Street, near the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral.
Pickleball is played on August 4, 2023, on St. Vartan Park courts on Second Avenue near East 35th Street
Slack Channel
For more information on pickleball at St. Vartan Park, please visit the free Slack workspace NYC Pickleball, access the free st-vartan-park channel and scroll through entries to view practice and competition opportunities and other key information. The popular St. Vartan Park pickleball channel has more than 2,500 members.
On Augusts 13, 2023, St. Vartan Park pickleball players, including St. Vartan Park Conservancy’s Kevin O’Keefe (second from left), visit a secure Conservancy sports equipment storage chest that allows players to access equipment free of charge
On October 2, 2021, pickleball was offered as part of an Open Streets trial next to St. Vartan Park on East 35th Street between First Avenue and Tunnel Approach Street
Equipment Storage
In August 2023, with an assist from the park’s pickleball community, St. Vartan Park Conservancy added a stocked sports equipment storage chest next to the pickleball courts. The equipment is free to use for play within the park.
Previously, many of the park’s pickleball players had to lug kits with nets and stanchions, paddles and other equipment to the park from blocks away.
Inclusive and equitable access to the locked chest is being managed by the Conservancy.
Pickleball action is captured at St. Vartan Park on September 22, 2023
Donations
To help St. Vartan Park Conservancy further enhance the St. Vartan Park pickleball experience, simply click the Donate button below to make a tax-deductible contribution. All dollar amounts are welcome.
Retrospection
“One of Manhattan’s top spots to play pickleball has to be St. Vartan Park. With annual tournaments and an uplifting atmosphere, this park is the perfect place for those looking to enjoy this sport. With an interactive Slack channel, you’re sure to stay up to date on all things pickleball at St. Vartan Park.”
At a pickleball tournament for players 55 years and older held in St. Vartan Park on November 6, 2022, the medalists in the 65-and-older division were (left to right) Neal Cohen and Ilene Cohen (silver), Marc Cohen and Wila Guy (bronze), and Sheryl Arluck and Rich Striano (gold).
“St. Vartan Park in Murray Hill is one of Manhattan’s top places for pickleball. On a recent weekday around noon, a foursome was packing up their net after playing. One of them, Beth Rasin, said there are 800 people on an online Slack group for the St. Vartan pickleball scene. She keeps the net in her lobby and anyone who wants to play can use it. Although the stereotype of pickleballers is that they are on the older side, Rasin said there’s definitely a mix of ages at the St. Vartan courts. ‘I played with a couple of 27-year-olds who are great athletes,’ said Rasin . . .”
Pickleball at St. Vartan Park is mainly played on courts on either side of the park handball wall, shown here in view with Midtown Manhattan skyscrapers in the late 1930s | Photograph from St. Vartan Park Conservancy collection
