An unknown vandal recently caused about $2,800 in damage at pickleball courts in Riverside Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side by slashing nets and absconding with equipment on multiple occasions when no one could stop him, according to police and parks officials.
But the local pickleball community has remained undeterred in pursuing their pastime, coming together to raise funds for new court nets that are now kept safe overnight in two locked metal boxes.
“Someone wants to take away our fun,” said Mei King, a 55-year-old who plays at the courts at 110th Street, between matches on Friday afternoon.
“A fun-thief,” chimed in her pickleball partner, Tayna Shen. “Look at our beautiful community here coming to play, and then everything is destroyed.”
A spokesperson for the NYPD said there were currently no suspects while the investigation continues. One pickleball player, Eduardo Valentin, said the slashing of the nets first started about six weeks ago and was discovered when people showed up to play.
Pickleball has grown wildly popular in New York City over the past few years, drawing both fervent fans and irked detractors. The Riverside Park courts, which are about a year old, are heavily used: On Friday, dozens of players were there as the sound of plastic balls being hit and laughter could be heard from a hundred yards away.
Community members said they did not believe the vandalism was related to the sport’s meteoric rise. “It's not making any noise,” said Valentin. “We don't know if it's a net issue or a what issue. We don't know."
People play pickleball at the courts at Riverside Park on the Upper West Side on May 24, 2024.
Some players said they arrived early at the courts last weekend to see a man in a black shirt cutting the nets and carrying off equipment. They said they confronted him and took photos that they later submitted to police.
Sam Pilcer said the man seemed to have been on a “bender or something all night.” “I don't attribute it to anything more malicious than that,” he said.
The Riverside Park pickleball group has roughly 1,400 members, who quickly replaced the damaged nets with temporary ones that they now secure outside of playing hours, according to interviews. Members said they are a tight-knit community that assembled from other parts of the city where competition over court space had become intense.
“We need to set the tone because if you don't set the tone, people from outside the community will come and set the tone for you,” Valentin warned.
