Astoria Park Tennis Courts — Local services in New York

Whoever the attendant was on May 22nd at 12pm, and her supervisor, should be fired or at the very least reassigned to positions where they never need to speak to another human being. I feel they would thrive best in a basement, or a closet. For those who have time for a short story:

A few friends and I signed up for a court with a very nice attendant and zero issue. The court next to us is normally used by coaches but no one was there, so after a little while we asked the attendant if we could switch to that one, and she said yes.

An hour later a coach came to use the court, so I went to the entrance to sign up for a different court and there was a different attendant. She asked what court I was on before, I told her, and she said I wasn't supposed to be there because it's reserved for coaches. I told her the previous attendant said we could use it, but ok I just wanted to sign up for any other available court. She said again that that court is only for coaches (I believe she only had one brain cell stuck on repeat), and I said again that the previous attendant allowed us to be there and asked again if she could write my name down for a different court, and she said no (..???). I asked if I could write my own name down and she said no. I asked why she wasn't allowing me to sign up for a court, and she looked at the person behind me and asked them what court they would like.

At this point I went to an empty court without signing up because I wasn't sure how long it would take her brain cell to restart and she then came over with her supervisor, Sparkle Johnson (hopefully that helps paint a better picture of this story). Sparkle started yelling at me that I wasn’t allowed to be on a court without signing up. I tried to tell Sparkle that I repeatedly asked to sign up for a court, but she simply talked over me even when I asked if I could have a turn to speak, and then threatened to revoke my permit because I went to a court without signing up… because the attendant refused to write my name down She said I needed to return to the entrance and ask the attendant if I could sign up for a court ………… for the 11th time.

I’ve been going here for a while and every other attendant I’ve met has been incredibly sweet, but it’s embarrassing that Sparkle and her Oompa Loompa are government employees. I hope they enjoyed their little power...

*NEED A PERMIT 14 COURTS TOTAL (one currently out of use, one used for lessons). Similar style to Central Park. Good alternative if you live in Astoria or surrounding area. There is a manager that has a paper with a list of courts. To reserve a court for the next hour, you write your/partner’s name along with last 4 digits of permit number on that sheet. Usually they don’t confirm… You can reserve a court for the next hour at the earliest 40 min before the next hour (unlike Central Park, there is no advance reserve for later hours in the day. Sign up for 1-2 opens at 12:20). I recommend getting there about 50 min before because there is a line that forms to sign up (and you probably don’t want to miss it). Chances are if you sign up 10 min before the hour there will be...

Review solely of the morning management for the courts. I play here fairly regularly and have never had a good experience interacting with the lady who guards the sign up sheet during the AM shift (Summer 2023). When it’s busy, she looks like everyone has upset her by showing up. She doesn’t communicate the sign up rules (be there 40min before the next hr starts to sign up for a court with your permit etc) and instead sits there looking like she would rather be anywhere else. It’s understandable that during peak times, there’s a wait to play, however having to interact with someone who’s rude and so disinterested really ruins the whole experience. (The afternoon sign up lady is awesome, super...