The tennis courts at Hardy Park were to have been resurfaced by June 21, in time for the start of summer camp. As of Friday, August 19, it hadn’t happened.

On Thursday evening, Wesley Horton, 24, and Lukas Chandler, 22, made a go of a tennis game. Having recently moved to the area, they noted how nice it is to have the facilities so close by. (This article was originally published on The Hoe.org, August 20, 2016.)

FOOT FAULT: Potholes on the baseline of one of the two tennis courts at Hardy Park, located at Q Street and Foxhall Road, in northwest Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: John A. Bray

Since they were the only ones out, they could choose their court, picking the one without the potholes just beyond the middle of one of the baselines.

“It looks more like asphalt than a tennis court, aesthetically,” Chandler said of the courts, where much of the paint has been rubbed off. “It would be nice if the city invested a little bit more.”

Weedy grass fills in cracks. At least the nets are in good shape.

Horton moved to the city from Arlington, Va., where he said he has played on a variety of the community’s public tennis courts, which he said are in “much better” condition.

On the playground’s upper level, Dony Maiguel, 43, had the basketball court to himself, free to choose from three goals — four if you count the one on the ground leaning against the mounting pole. All that remains of two others are patched pole holes.

Chicago transplant Dony Maiguel, 43, sinks a short shot on the better side of the Hardy Park basketball court. Photo Credit: John A. Bray

“Is it the best court I’ve ever seen? No,” Maiguel said. “It’s serviceable.” Maiguel, who recently moved to a nearby apartment, called the conditions pretty typical of the public courts where he’s from in Chicago, except there are nets on the Hardy rims.

Weedy grass fills in the cracks.

Set in the grass at one of the gates into the basketball court at Hardy Park, the dedication plaque. Photo Credit: John A. Bray

The target date for completion of the tennis court work was relayed to me on May 2 by Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh’s office. Deputy Chief of Staff Dee Smith said she was citing information from the D.C. Parks and Recreation Department.

Smith said that the funding was to come from $68,000 remaining from $500,000 provided for renovation of the field house at the playground, located at Q Street and Foxhall Road in Northwest.

© 2016 John A. Bray