Pickleball
The fun and inclusive St. Vartan Park pickleball community uses the free-to-all 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 play.
Pickleball is played on July 5, 2024, on St. Vartan Park courts on Second Avenue near East 35th Street
Equipment Storage
Equipment storage box on the north side of the St. Vartan Park handball and parickleball courts, March 6, 2025
On August 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
In August 2023, St. Vartan Park Conservancy added a stocked pickleball equipment storage chest next to the pickleball courts. The pickleball equipment is free to use for play in the park.
Previously, many of the park’s pickleball players had to carry kits with nets and stanchions, paddles and other equipment to the park from blocks away.
The Conservancy maintains Inclusive and equitable access to the locked chest.
Storage Access and Use
To open the equipment storage chest, 1) take the key from the lock box on the fence, 2) place the key in the lock on the front of the chest, 3) turn the key and pull outward, 4) slide the iron bar that next to the lock, and 5) lift the chest lid. Place the key back in the lock box.
To close the storage chest, 1) close the lid, 2) slide the bar, and 3) push in the lock. (Unless the chest is locked, the key is not needed to lock it.)
Visit the park pickleball community’s Slack channels (see following section) for updates on access.
When done with the storage chest, please post on Slack that the equipment — including any curtain nets — has been successfully locked.
Pickleball practice on the St. Vartan Park north courts, March 6, 2025
In September 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
Slack Channels
For more information on pickleball at St. Vartan Park, please visit the free Slack workspace NYC Pickleball, then select any free public St. Vartan Park channel. You can scroll through channel entries to view practice and competition opportunities and other key information regarding pickleball at the park.
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
Pickleball play on the north side of the St. Vartan Park courts on September 27, 2024
“New York City is . . . considered the country’s best city for pickleball . . . No equipment? That’s no problem at St. Vartan Park. There is an on-site storage shed with equipment to make it easier for beginners to play. Once you’ve learned the game, a match is just a Slack message away. The park has a dedicated channel in the NYC Pickleball Slack workspace. ”
Play Guidelines
In cooperation with St. Vartan Park Conservancy, the park’s pickleball community for recreational play welcomes players of all skill levels and playing styles and aims for maximum play time and fairness.
To maintain efficient use of the courts for the enjoyment by all players for recreational sessions, the community promotes the following guidelines:
— The community nets in the park’s equipment storage box will not be used for private sessions.
— Organizers of community play sessions provide for a fair and fun experience with the following defaults: 1) courts are divided into skill level with the first court for intermediate, the second for advanced, the third for beginner and the fourth for advanced, 2) there will be separate queues for each level, with this rotation: two on and two off until four paddles per court are in the queue and then four on and four off, and 3) within all four courts are available, one advanced court will serve a a challenge court with its own queue with two on and two off. If a team wins three games in a row, it must then depart the court.
— Each player is allowed to have one paddle in only one of the queues at a time (not a paddle in multiple queues)
— Designated community play organizers may select a different play format and make adjustments based on those playing. Any special rules must be posted in advance on the Slack workspace referenced on the Slack section of this page).
— Organizers are designated on Slack before a given play session and this role can be transferred to other individuals by posting any change on Slack. The final designated organizer is responsible for fully locking up nets or any other equipment that were borrowed from the storage chest.
— Please be courteous when asking for players outside the community to abbreviate court time. NYC Parks has a first-come, first-served policy for players but not a time limit. Unless there is a permit for special use, the city does not designate a time limit for court use.
— Inform organizers you are coming to by answering polls posted on Slack at #games_st_vartan_park. If you are an organizer, please announce this on this Slack channel.
Pickleball action is captured at St. Vartan Park on September 22, 2023
June 28, 2024
St. Vartan Park north courts, August 18, 2024
Court Resurfacing Update
Pickleball play on the north side of the St. Vartan Park courts on September 27, 2024
Pickleball is played in St. Vartan Park on September 27, 2024,, under a newly uncovered cross atop St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral. Gold leaf was applied to the dome and cross before scaffolding and netting were removed. The cross is the third to grace the cathedral, following the original in 1968 and its replacement in 1993.
Following this St. Vartan Park Conservancy presentation on October 1, 2024, that called for resurfacing the aging St. Vartan Park courts used for pickleball, the parks committee of City government agency Manhattan Community Board 6 (CB6) unanimously passed a resolution for the City to budget for the upgrade.
At the October CB6 full board meeting that followed nine days later, the board passed the resolution with 35 votes in favor and none opposed.
The CB6 resolution proclaims, "improvements would correct the current conditions, save players from injuries and New York City from unnecessary civil suits and settlements... Manhattan Community Board 6 urges the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to resurface the handball and pickleball courts in St. Vartan Park using concrete coated with acrylic paint to improve traction and define playing zones."
NYC Parks and other City officials have been formally notified of this official community desire. Conservancy advocacy continues toward funding and implementation.
Donate
To help St. Vartan Park Conservancy further enhance the free St. Vartan Park pickleball experience and other elements of the park, simply click the Donate button below to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you.
Retrospection
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).
“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.”
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
“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 . . .”
The courts on the west side of the park appear alongside the Second Avenue elevated train tracks in 1939 | photograph by P. L. Speer
