27 Nov ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES MODERNIZATION OF TENNIS AND BASKETBALL COURTS IN ESSEX COUNTY WEEQUAHIC PARK IS COMPLETED Pickleball Courts are Added at the Tennis Courts
Published on November 27, 2024
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced the tennis and basketball courts along Elizabeth Avenue in Essex County Weequahic Park in Newark have been modernized with new playing surfaces, fencing and equipment. In addition, pickleball courts were added to the tennis court area. The upgrades are part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize the Essex County Parks System and provide the most up-to-date facilities for residents to use.
“Residents rely on our parks system for recreation, relaxation and exercise. Updating the basketball and tennis courts and including pickleball courts helps meet the demand of these popular sports and provides residents with modern facilities to play on,” DiVincenzo said.
The basketball and tennis courts were last updated in 2012 and needed attention because of regular wear and tear. The basketball courts received new playing surfaces and equipment while the tennis courts received new playing surfaces, fencing and equipment. In addition, one tennis court was transformed into two pickleball courts.
The project was designed in-house by the Department of Public Works, which also monitored the work to ensure delays were avoided. Shore Top Construction Corp. from Freehold was awarded a publicly bid contract for $861,980 to perform the construction work. The improvements were funded with a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. It was completed in three months.
Revitalizing Essex County Weequahic Park
Also being planned is the comprehensive renovation and modernization of Essex County Weequahic Golf Course and the walking track and exercise stations around the park lake.
In 2022, the Little League Field off of Elizabeth Avenue received a new synthetic grass surface. In 2021, the Feldman “Mootsie” Middleton, Jr. Community Center was replaced with a 15,000-square-foot modern building. In 2018, the Elizabeth Avenue playground was modernized with new apparatus and a rubberized safety surface and the restroom building was renovated. In 2017, The First Tee facilities were upgraded and the entranceway, parking lot and field house were modernized at Weequahic Golf Course as part of a $3.1 million project. In 2016, one of the baseball fields was modernized with a synthetic grass playing surface, new fencing and scoreboard and named in honor of the late Bill Hicks, a long-time little league and high school baseball coach. Also in 2016, the community center was named in honor of Feldman Middleton, Jr., one of the founders of the Weequahic Park Association and the Weequahic Park Sports Authority, and the playground was named in honor of activist Carl Sharif. In 2015, the playground by Building 92 was modernized with new equipment and a rubberized safety surface. In 2012, the four entrances to Weequahic Park received a facelift with traffic islands, lighting, paving and landscaping to beautify the area and enhance pedestrian and traffic safety, and the basketball courts were named in honor of the late Delano Gordon, founder of Above the Rim. Essex County partnered with the National Football League to install a new half-mile fitness course with six exercise stations in 2010. Weequahic Golf Course received a major overhaul in 2009 as part of $7 million modernization project in each of the County’s three public golf courses and the Weequahic Bridge was reconstructed for $3 million. A synthetic grass surface baseball field and four basketball courts were developed as part of a $1.8 million project in 2007. Essex County welcomed The First Tee and its nationally recognized youth leadership training program to Weequahic Golf Course in 2006. The First Tee constructed a state-of-the-art, three-hole youth golf facility for its program adjacent to the golf course. The playground at Building 96 at the Chancellor Avenue entrance to the park was modernized with new equipment and rubberized safety surface in 2006. The Elizabeth Avenue tennis courts were rebuilt in 2004.
DiVincenzo has partnered with the New Jersey Green Acres program, the NJ Department of Transportation, the Essex County Parks Foundation, Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board, Weequahic Park Association and The First Tee to secure grants to fund the improvements in Essex County Weequahic Park.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system in the United States. It has been expanded to include about 6,000 acres of land and includes 20 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, miniature golf course, five dog parks, a castle, Treetop Adventure Course and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Weequahic Park is 311.33 acres, is one of the original five County parks created in 1895 and is the second largest park in the Essex County System.
