Good Neighbors Pickleball Information/Frequently Asked Questions:
Where can I play pickleball?
There are pickleball courts in the following locations in Brooklyn. For any indoor court, check the applicable website to confirm the hours that the court is available since it may change:
- JJ Carty/Fort Hamilton- outdoors with one small, non-standard size court inside. Ft Hamilton Pkwy & 100th St, 11209
- Leif Ericson -outdoors 8th avenue at 67th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220
- Park Slope Armory Y (Y members only) -indoors. Generally open 6:30 am-9:30 am M-Th, but times change so you need to confirm on the Y website.
- Dodge (Atlantic Ave) Y (Y members only) -indoors open during these hours: 9-1045 Tu, 9:15 to 10:15 Wed, 8:15-10:15 Thursday. CheckDodge Y website for updates.
- One outdoor court next to the Old Stone House (asphalt surface)
- St. Johns Recreation Center -indoors open 11:30 to 2:30 M to F. 1251 Prospect Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11213
- Marine Park outdoors 1925 E 32nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11234
- Brooklyn Bridge Park outdoors 150 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
- Sunset Park Recreation center indoors (currently under renovation and closed; scheduled to re-open in 2025) 4200 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 1123
What about the Recreation Centers? In order to play indoors at a City Recreation Center (St. Johns, Sunset Park when it reopens or JJ Carty/Fort Hamilton), or to use the bathroom at Fort Hamilton, you need to join. For a senior, it is $25 per year to join. The Fort Hamilton outdoor courts are open to the public without a Rec Center membership, BUT if you want to use the bathroom at the Recreation Center, or get a drink of water, you must have a membership. Best way to join is to go to the Recreation Center and join there. https://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/recreation-centers/membership#:~:text=How%20to%20Join%20Our%20Recreation,a%20person%20with%20a%20disability.
How do I find people to play with?:
Two basic ways–go to a court and join a pick up game, or use TeamReach to arrange to meet with people at a certain court.
Important–You absolutely don’t need to pre-arrange a group of 4 to play pickleball, in contrast to how it works with tennis. Pickleball mainly has pick up games: You can just go to a court, and watch the games to see who is at or close to your level. Once you find a group you would like to play with, put your paddle down on the side to indicate you want to join when the next game starts. There will be other paddles down. People are pretty friendly but of course it is a competitive game and people prefer to play with others at or close to their level. Sometimes the court will be 4 new people for each game, and sometimes the winning team stays on and only two new “challengers” join the next game.
TeamReach is a great way to chat with other players, find out what the courts are like in terms of crowds, level of play, etc.
How do I use Team Reach?:
First, download the TeamReach app. Then join the group you want to join using the code for that group.
The code for the GNPS Team Reach is stayactive
The purpose of the Good Neighbors Team Reach group is simply to chat with folks, set up games or find out information about courts. You can send a message to the entire group, or use the pen icon to send a direct message to one or selected people only. The calendar on the Good Neighbors Team Reach is not active because there is no one court for this Team Reach.
There are TeamReach groups for various courts in Brooklyn. In these other groups, the calendar is used and you can see when the court may be closed due to lessons or leagues, how many people are planning to play on a given day, etc. We are aware of the TeamReach codes for a few courts, but there may be others we don’t know about. Join the group you wish to join by using this code on the TeamReach app:
- Armory Y Pickleballers - group code: ParkSlope
- John J Carty Park - Fort Hamilton Picklers - group code: FHP
- Leif Ericson Park is called - Friendly Pickleball - group code: Ontheline
- Pier 2 Bklyn Heights - group code: 11201
- Sunset Park Pickleballers - group code: 111232
- Marine Park - group code: MPPBA
Where can I take group lessons? Twice a year, the NYC Parks Department offers free lessons–starting in April and September. Look for the email with the sign up information. During the past two years, the lessons have been offered two times per week at JJ Carty/Fort Hamilton and Leif Ericson courts. The lessons are free and usually are at beginner and advanced beginner/intermediate lessons.
Where can I take private lessons or set up lessons for my own group? There are various instructors around who offer private lessons. You can make your own arrangements with them, either for a private lesson or a group lesson. The price per person for a group lesson may be higher.