It now appears that the tennis courts at Hardy Park won’t be resurfaced until sometime in mid-October.

The cracked, potholed and paint-worn courts were to have been redone by June 21, according to Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh’s office, which cited Department of Parks and Recreation information. (This article originally was published on The Hoe.org, September 9, 2016.)

The new target for next month comes via a September 1, 2016 communication to Cheh’s office from the city’s Department of General Services, which handles facilities work:

“Regarding the planned resurfacing at Hardy, we had previously advised that we were presented with some procurement challenges with respect to pricing on this project and thus began reviewing alternatives. Ultimately we will be working with an existing vendor, with work expected to begin in mid-September, with completion expected mid-October, weather permitting.”

Friends of Hardy Chair Frank Staroba has been pushing city officials for park upkeep, not just the tennis courts, but also the basketball courts, where only three of six goals are standing, and the park grounds.

Frank Staroba, chair of the Friends of Hardy organization, consults a file he has been keeping on developments with playground upkeep. Photo Credit: John A. Bray

“It doesn’t serve the community as it should,” Staroba said. “I don’t know what the contract details are,” Staroba told me. “But something is holding everything up.”

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

© 2016 John A. Bray