In rebuttal to the tennis counter-protest: 

• This petition was not shared across large online communities like reddit.com/r/10s (50-60k members) or reddit.com/r/hoboken. This petition has only been shared among people who play pickleball in the Hudson county area. 
• This is not a demand to change the courts permanently. This is a request to get mix-use space that can be painted or taped pickleball lines. 
• This is not a demand to take the best hours away from Tennis from children to high school to adults playing time but to carve out some hours for pickleball use so players can schedule to play at specific times.
• If you have ever played in Washington Park, I can guarantee you the car noise and music on the north fence around the park is louder than pickleballs being hit. 

Petition to transform 2 separated tennis courts in Washington Park into Mixed-use 4-6 pickleball tennis courts to accommodate up to 64-96 people an hour vs 4-8 tennis players per hour. 

Jersey City Heights has 13 tennis courts and 2 pickleball courts. 9 of the tennis courts are in Washington Park and 4 are in Pershing Field Park. 

Pickleball has grown immensely and with the rebuilding of southwest Harrison Ave park in Hoboken estimated for 2 years, we have seen a massive influx of players traveling to Washington Park resulting in immense wait times. The two available pickleball-only courts cannot handle the wait times and have created a culture and environment of hostility as everyone wants to play. Parks should bring people together to meet and greet and enjoy the outdoors, not create barriers. 

Of the 9 tennis courts in Washington Park, 2 of them are completely separated. This would be a great use to transform these 2 courts into a mixed-use with Pickleball. The space would allow for 6 pickleball courts + 2 caged pickleball courts. Also, this would be a temporary solution until Hoboken re-opens the southwest park, or it could even be permanent and continue to bring people together in Washington Park. 

I propose to make the 2 tennis courts on the west side to be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for Pickleball. While the details can be discussed after approval, we could start with set hours for pickleball, taping court lines in a different color to Blue and White, and deploy moveable nets that can be stored along the wall when not in use. If there is no budget, the community members can provide the nets. 

Washington Park does not only serve the Hoboken/Weehawken Pickleball community. Washington Park serves the very diverse communities of Union City, Jersey City Heights, and Journal Square communities. 

We are halfway to summer and people will only continue to get upset if they cannot enjoy a court and get the exercise they want. Please make this change as soon as possible.