24 May ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES MODERNIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY BROOKDALE PARK TENNIS COURTS IS COMPLETE
Published on May 24, 2019
First Pickleball Courts in Essex County Parks System are Created in Brookdale Park
Bloomfield/Montclair, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that the Essex County Brookdale Park Tennis Courts were updated with new playing surfaces and nets on Friday, May 24th. In addition, four new pickleball courts were created at the facility; they are the first pickleball courts in the Essex County Parks System.
“Making sure our recreation facilities are up to date and able to meet the needs of the community has been an ongoing initiative of mine for the past 17 years. Recently, we received requests from the public to make pickleball courts available, and the renovations at the tennis courts made this possible,” DiVincenzo said. “People of all ages and with diverse interests should be able to enjoy our open spaces, and the pickleball courts are a great addition,” he added.
“This is one of the many exciting projects that is taking place in Essex County. This park is -loved and heavily used, and these improvements will be well received,” Freeholder Carlos Pomares said.
“This is an example of government at work, and it’s a tribute to the attention paid by the County Executive. As mayor, I’m proud to point people to Brookdale Park as a place to have fun,” Montclair Mayor and County Administrator Robert Jackson said.
“I learned to play tennis on these courts so seeing them upgraded like this is good. Our residents will benefit greatly from the new courts and our seniors will definitely enjoy the new pickleball courts.
“The Brookdale Park Conservancy has received such tremendous support from Essex County, and we appreciate the improvements made throughout the park. This is the perfect timing, just before the Memorial Day weekend, to open the courts,” said Mollie Smith, President of the Brookdale Park Conservancy.
The tennis courts were last upgraded in 2007 and were showing signs of aging after 12 years of heavy use. All the surfaces were repaved and new netting was installed. Two of the tennis courts were reconfigured to accommodate the pickleball courts, so there are now nine tennis courts and six pickleball courts. The pickleball courts are the size of a badminton court (which is about half the size of a tennis court) and the rules are similar to tennis.
Zenith Construction Services from Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $519,050 to perform the construction work. The project was designed in-house by the Department of Public Works, which also monitored the project, so delays could be avoided. A grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund was used to fund the upgrades. Work started in March and took about three months to complete.
Revitalizing Essex County Brookdale Park
DiVincenzo’s administration has completed several improvement projects in Brookdale Park as part of a comprehensive initiative to revitalize the Essex County Park System.
The synthetic grass field and rubberized running track in the Oval were completed in May 2004 and was updated with new grass and rubberized surfaces in 2014. In 2006, the meadow underwent an extensive $1.15 million renovation that included the installation of new drainage and irrigation systems, the planting of sod on the entire meadow surface and the modernization of the baseball/softball field in the northern section of the meadow. The development of the Brookdale Dog Park and the reconstruction of the 11-court tennis facility were completed in November 2007. In 2009, the Circuit Drive, the parking lots and the walking paths throughout the park were repaved. In 2014, a three-phase project to install 148 light poles at the park entranceways and around the walking paths and an 18-station fitness course were completed. In 2015, the playground was updated with new climbing apparatus and a rubberized safety surface. In 2018, the welcome center received a comprehensive upgrade. These projects were funded with grants from the NJ Green Acres program and the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. DiVincenzo has established partnerships with the Montclair United Soccer and the Brookdale Park Conservancy to obtain the grant funding.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 23 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, two miniature golf courses, four off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens.At 121.41 acres, Brookdale Park is the third largest park in the Essex County System. Land for the park was purchased between 1928 and 1931.
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