Are You Having Problems Obtaining A Fall/Winter Roosevelt Island Octagon Tennis Permit? Problem May Be Solved!

Image of Roosevelt Island Octagon Tennis Court From RIOC

On this rainy, dreary day, it is hard to think about playing tennis in November and thru the rest of the Winter but there is no reason why tennis can't be a Roosevelt Island cold weather sport.

I received the following message from new Roosevelt Island resident:

I recently moved to Roosevelt Island and love it so far. I like to play tennis sometimes and just learned that my NYC permit does not suffice at the public tennis courts near the Octagon. Ok, that's fine.

However, I called the office and learned that I couldn't play on the courts until March, when they start selling new permits, even though current permit holders can play 365 days out of the year, weather permitting. Do you know of a solution to this? Or have any commentsabout it?

I inquired of RIOC President Steve Shane:

I received ... message ... from a recent Roosevelt Island arrival asking about the tennis permit policies at the Octagon Courts. The reader explained that he would like to obtain a permit now but was told he could not do so until the start of the new permit year (beginning in March 2010) even though those with current permits can continue to play through March.

Is that correct. If so, can the policy be altered so that residents can purchase a tennis permit now and be able to play, weather permitting, until the start of the new season in March.

Mr Shane responded:

We will take care of it. Thanks for forwarding.

Good job by Mr. Shane and RIOC in responding to this so quickly.

Here is RIOC's tennis permit policy.