The tennis courts at Jackie Robinson Park Playground were in need of major renovations when Bed-Stuy native Frances Ferdinand began coaching there in 2019.
“The courts were horrible. The nets had holes in them, they were dilapidated. The windscreens that were on the back were just shreds…there was a huge ditch in between two of the courts that looked like you could twist your ankle [in it]” said Ferdinand, who runs HQ Tennis, a coaching company. “You couldn’t even serve your ball to start your point because it would get caught in the trees.”
Ferdinand was the only person to bid for the rights to coach at the courts back then, offering $6,700 for a five-year contract. She immediately got to work rallying the city to improve not only the courts, but the entire playground. The Department of Environmental Protection helped execute repairs, including resurfacing the courts and installing drainage. When it came time to renew her bid, she thought her contract was in the bag.
But this spring, Ferdinand was outbid by tens of thousands of dollars by Omar Durrani, a Brooklyn tennis instructor who also acquired court concessions in Brownsville and Astoria. Durrani bid $44,000 while Ferdinand bid nearly $9000.
Ferdinand was devastated and confused after losing her contract – she thought that the work she had poured into the park would be considered.
“The proposal package that they’re asking you to put together doesn’t just ask about money, but they ask about your community involvement,” she said. “They ask about your coaching abilities and what you bring to the court.”
Ferdinand feels like she significantly contributed to raising the courts’ value, causing multiple people to make offers on Jackie Robinson during the latest bid process.
The Parks Department asserts that going with the highest bid ensures a fair and competitive process.
“To be honest, it’s the complete opposite because then it pushes coaches like myself out when you have people who are able to bid as high as this guy has on multiple courts,” Ferdinand said.
Making concessions equitable
The situation at the Jackie Robinson courts begs the question: can the concessionaire process better support community values and become more equitable for small business owners?
“Right now, the highest bid essentially drives the decision-making,” said Shawn Rickenbacker, the director of the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures at The City College of New York.
The city uses a sealed bid process, which keeps all offer amounts private until selection. Focusing on money as the main criteria makes it hard for small businesses – especially nonprofits – to compete with large establishments, according to Rickenbacker.
“It just makes me feel like none of the hard work and the sweat equity that I put into the park [matters],” said Ferdinand, who is continuing to work with the Parks Department to finish renovating the park.
Right now, larger companies tend to find more success in concessionaires – particularly in food and recreation.
“We have to ask ourselves why is that the case? Could we do better in terms of facilitating the growth of pre-existing companies by even inviting them to participate?” Rickenbacker said. “If that moves beyond just revenue that would give community boards and the borough president’s office an opportunity to perhaps canvas the community to see what their thoughts are on the quality of service and the connectedness of that service to one’s community.,”
Community bonds at the park
For Ferdinand, it’s not just about tennis, but it’s about serving the entire community. In the early days of HQ Tennis, Ferdinand wanted to establish the park as a neutral space amid escalating gun violence on surrounding blocks.
“I was on court doing a lesson with some juniors and we saw a shootout right across the street at the corner store,” Ferdinand said. “And of course, all of that is nerve wracking.”
She helped lead a fundraiser with neighbors which raised about $11,000 to provide free park programming for the community in 2021. That includes free Fridays on the courts.
“We give out rackets and we give out lessons,” Ferdinand said.
Ferdinand also helped fundraise tennis scholarships for neighborhood kids and put on local tournaments.
“I realized a lot of people that don’t have the disposable income to play tennis also don’t see the benefit of it,” Ferdinand said.
Tension on the courts
Jackie Robinson’s concessions ownership transition has not exactly been smooth.
“There’s definitely been drama on the court,” Ferdinand said.
Ferdinand recently gave birth and hasn’t been around the courts as much, but she’s been hearing about issues through the grapevine. Two other community members involved with Jackie Robinson told BKReader that “Durrani’s actions were off-putting,” which included allegedly calling the police on a group of women playing tennis on a court outside of Durrani’s concessions.
“Nobody likes the cops called on them,” Ferdinand said. “And especially Black people don’t like the cops called on them, especially not in your neighborhood.”
They also claim Durrani tore down HQ Tennis banners around the courts. (Durrani did not respond to Epicenter NYC’s multiple requests for comment via emails and phone calls.)
We reached out to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation for an interview. A department spokesperson, Chris Clark, sent us a statement that didn’t address any of the questions we wanted to ask. In part, it said “the permit applies to only one of the tennis courts; the other courts are available for regular tennis use.”
Bed-Stuy rallies for an appeal
In June, Bed-Stuy locals held a rally on the courts in support of Ferdinand. They advocated for more community involvement in park concessions decisions.
“It shows that the community does care about the space and we have made enough of a difference that people are willing to take their time to come out and show their support,” Ferdinand said.
The push to make city planning decisions more equitable is fairly new, according to Rickenbacker, and it might take some time to change policies.
“There is a movement to try to figure out how city government can help facilitate equitable outcomes, but it’s a work in progress,” Rickenbacker said.
One can see this taking shape through New York City issuing Shared Equity Requests for Information.
“The city had been asking organizations, research centers, et cetera, what have you been looking at or investigating that we might be able to learn from and perhaps I imagine employ,” Rickenbacker said. “So I know quite a few organizations banded together and sent in responses.”
Ferdinand is appealing the concessions decision.
“We have over 3,000 signatures on the appeal letter,” she said.
With the appeal, Ferdinand and her supporters are hoping to show the parks department that the community wants to keep HQ Tennis around.
“We can keep [Durrani’s] concession, but we want to create a space where I’m able to still continue to deliver the programming that the community has grown to love,” Ferdinand said.
