Sportime
Dear Friends,
Recently many of you have called or written about the future of the tennis program in Harbor Island Park. There is a long convoluted history of tennis in Harbor Island that I may save for another email. But for the purposes of this email I will concern myself with the current situation. The Village’s contract with Sportime expires this summer. Sportime has provided tennis in their private club on 8 clay courts in Harbor Island since 2002. The courts and the bubbles that enclose them are the property of the Village of Mamaroneck residents/taxpayers.
Sportime has always had the goal of building a private club, a multisport complex, with permanent structures erected in the middle of Harbor Island Park. (Full disclosure, they have always been open and honest about this being their desire.) The facility they propose will only house 5 har tru courts as opposed to the 8 clay courts that our park now offers. Their plan is below, please take a look at it to better inform the discussion moving forward:
I don’t believe that a plan to turn over a large chunk of our park to a developer to run a private multi sport club is in keeping with both my fiduciary responsibilities as Mayor or in line with the wishes of a large majority of our residents. Parklands are scarce in our area and are held in public trust, being stewards of that trust is something the current Board takes very seriously.
I realize there is a need/desire for the Village to have year round tennis on our lovely clay courts. I will look for ideas and strategies to bring that to fruition. I welcome the input of all residents to come up with a plan that serves the needs and desires of our residents. I am sure the whole Board will rule nothing out to ensure a good outcome for Mamaroneck. We will always put the needs of our residents before the wants of outside developers/corporations. I look forward to reasoning with and discussing this issue with any concerned resident.
Respectfully,
Tom Murphy
Mayor, Village of Mamaroneck