00:02We are joined here today by leaders from inside and outside of city government and
00:08I want to just take a moment first to acknowledge USTA Foundation CEO Ginny
00:13Ehrlich who's here with us. Yonex USA President Lenise Douglas who's here with
00:20us. NYJTL CEO President Uday Tambar who's here with us. My former colleague
00:29and still friend Assemblymember Chantel Jackson who's here with us. Current
00:34colleague and current friend Councilmember Amanda Farias who's here with us. Our Bronx
00:39Community Board 3 District Manager Edda Ritter who is here with us. Also our first
00:44Deputy Commissioner Mark Folk from New York City Parks. And I want to just give a
00:49special shout out to Larry Leeds as well.
00:55Absolutely. Now New York City is a town that moves fast and fights for every
01:00advantage. So it is only fitting that when people think of world-class tennis they
01:05think of our city. From the more than 500 public courts and parks across the five
01:09boroughs to the more than 100 year history of the US Open in Queens the sport has
01:14been played shaped and transformed by New Yorkers from all walks of life. I'm
01:19thinking of New Yorkers like Mayor David Dinkins who did not pick up a we should
01:24have a round of applause for Mayor Dinkins. Mayor Dinkins who did not pick up a
01:29racket until he was 40 years old. I think of the kids practicing their topspin and
01:34their volleys right behind me. I think of the athletes who grew up in Harlem and
01:37Queens and would go on to become some of the greatest players the sport has ever
01:41seen. Players like Althea Gibson who learned by playing with her friends on a
01:46roped-off street in on 143rd Street before playing on the courts of the
01:50Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in Sugar Hill and who would later become the first
01:54black player to ever compete in and win a Grand Slam in 1956.
02:03I think of players like John McEnroe or Johnny Mac to those who've been around
02:06long enough to watch him play who long before he became the world number one
02:10was just a kid from Douglaston with a racket and a dream. Though Gibson and
02:14McEnroe grew up in different boroughs and in different eras, though they played a
02:18very different game, New York City gave them both the same opportunities. Courts to
02:23play on and the chance to be great. And today as we cut the ribbon on these 10
02:28newly resurfaced courts, we are giving that legacy a new life. These courts are
02:33some of the most popular in the Bronx. They are home to the country's largest free
02:38junior tennis competition, the Mayor Dinkins Cup, hosted by our partners at New
02:47York Junior Tennis and Learning and featuring more than 800 young players
02:51from across the city. And yet for too long these courts have been worn down with
02:56cracks in the surface that make bounces unpredictable and play all too
02:59difficult. Today I'm proud to say that we've given these kids and New Yorkers
03:04across the Bronx not only a court to play on but a new repaired professional grade
03:09surface that will allow them the chance to be great. I want to commend New York City
03:13Parks and the workers who completed this refurbishment in just three weeks. I want
03:24to thank the USDA Foundation for their work to bring tennis into the lives of young
03:28people across the country for their investment in coach training and professional grade courts
03:33like these and for their partnership with Yonex that provided the grant that made today
03:37possible. And I'm deeply, yes, yes we should. And I'm deeply grateful for New York Junior
03:46Tennis and Learning's leadership and for their work to ensure that tennis belongs to everyone.
03:51Just as we made it possible for New Yorkers to watch the beautiful game up close throughout
03:55the World Cup, we have also partnered with the USTA to make a thousand discounted tickets
03:59available for New Yorkers to do the same at the US Open. Now those tickets went on sale
04:05about 12 minutes ago and they're probably sold out. New York City would not be synonymous with
04:11world-class tennis if it were not for everything that the USTA does to make this sport accessible.
04:15I'm grateful for their partnership in this effort and for their work to ensure that every
04:19New Yorker has the opportunity to watch the world's greatest players perform on the world
04:24stage. Because whether you're watching or whether you're playing there is no doubt about it. It is
04:29the season of tennis here in New York City. And we want the 12 year old who is awed by
04:35Alcaraz's
04:35signature drop shot or Sabalenka's serve in the night match to be able to come out here the next
04:40morning and to try it themselves. We want seasoned players and amateurs alike to know the satisfaction
04:45that comes from hitting on a high quality court. One without a sagging net, without dead spots,
04:51without weeds growing on the service line. And we want all New Yorkers to be able to share in the
04:55magic of tennis as they watch and play the game that they love. Thank you all so much and thank
05:01you to everyone who made this possible. I have to also acknowledge our council member Justin Sanchez
05:08here in an official council member tennis uniform.
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