Grand Central Tennis Courts: Once "Secret," Soon To Be History

Courtesy MAS.

A capacious old attic on the third floor of Grand Central Terminal, located directly above Vanderbilt Hall, has since 1965 been home to two clay tennis courts. While open to the public for a fee of $170 an hour, the courts are one of the city's best-kept secrets, or, rather, they were—Metro-North administrators have decided to replace the courts with a rest area for conductors and train engineers. According to the Daily News, the new facility will include bunk beds, showers, lockers and a lounge.

Metro-North workers are elated, but Donald Trump, who has leased the courts since the '70s, is sad, which puts us in the uncomfortable position of empathizing the Donald; the thought of celebs like Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, and John McEnroe hitting a ball around above Grand Central seems somehow more romantic than a big locker room. Trump had been leasing the courts for just $4 a square foot, while the average rent in the landmark terminal for restaurants and other retail shops is $99 a square foot. That sweetheart deal ends on Memorial day, and he tells the News, "It's very sad that it's over; it's a great place."

The Municipal Art Society, which conducts weekly tours of Grand Central Terminal, has more on the tennis court space, which was used as a CBS soundstage in the '40s. The first episodes of “What’s My Line?” and Edward R. Murrow’s news program “See It Now”—including the famous series on Senator Joseph McCarthy—were broadcast from there. It's said that CBS left because of the train rumblings, and in 1965, Geza A. Gazdag, a Hungarian immigrant, built the tennis courts. At one point, Gazdag even installed a 65-foot long indoor ski slope made of plastic brush!

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By John Del Signore in News on March 19, 2009 10:51 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Something tells me that even as everything else changes, the smell will remain the same.

jibbly

Live Blog Commenting: 30 Rock just featured these courts!

tsol

Rather than feather their own nest, why doesn't the MTA rent the space out for the scratch that it's REALLY worth and help out the commuter with the resultant extra cash?

$4 a square foot from Trump is $4 a square foot more than we'll be getting from a palatial union playground....

JacqueMehoff

sounds good to me.

it's only two courts. say bye bye donald.

matty

I love it! (Well not that they're going to be taken out).

But how old timey!

"By Jove Jeeves, what shall we put in this cavernous attic atop the train terminus!?"

"I say old boy, a spot of tennis is terrific for the body's fluids after a particularly arduous journey!"

"Well a tennis court we shall build! what ho!"

Politburo

Because of the rush-hour nature of railroads, very often a crew will be on in the morning rush, then off (unpaid) for ~4 hours, and then back on for the evening rush. It sounds like the existing space is a hole, so this should be a welcome change for the crews.

citylion

I, for one, don't feel at all bad about the situation. Poor little rich people. They'll be loosing an oasis to them.

I mentally gagged when I saw the hourly price posted and did it again when I saw how much Trump has been paying for it. Forget it, give it to the works or better yet, why put bids out on it? It would be cool to have a studio there.

Is there any way how much the mta's fees would pan out on square footage to compare it to Trump's fees? Maybe Trump's has been way under market and he probably needed to be cut off on that account.

schadenfreudian mensch

"I'd rather Railroad Workers have a rest spot than Donald Trump getting a sweetheart deal."

Yes, because railroad work is such a stressed filled and physically dangerous job that 97% are disabled by the time they hit 50. They are so disabled that the only recourse is golfing and picking up a check for $250k.

http://gothamist.com/2008/09/21/why_are_so_many_lirr_retirees_on_di.php

ed_Extinct

rest area?

this has to be a joke?

Sinchy

I'd rather Railroad Workers have a rest spot than Donald Trump getting a sweetheart deal.

Polite New Yorker

Good point. There is no excuse for Trump getting a sweetheart deal on this property. At a time when the MTA (which includes Metro North) is cutting service and raising fares, it owes us commuters sounder fiscal measures before giving more break rooms to itself.

Outter Burrougher

i'm not sure i understand your point as you seem to be trying to be agree and disagree with the comment you are responding to...

they could always charge Trump more for the space to get more money. where do these people rest now?

djwerdna

Maybe some socialite will come to the courts' rescue

Polite New Yorker

MTA employees tend to give themselves a lot of special privileges at our expense. I once got on an MTA train, not realizing I had entered a car that the conductors had set aside for themselves. A rude conductor asked me for my ID, and upon informing him that I was a ticketed passenger, I was sent back to a crowded passenger car, while the conductors lounged in comfort. What passes for efficiency on paper for the MTA is usually rudeness and laziness on the part of its overpaid employees and executives.

dr zippy

The rest area is for MetroNorth not MTA employees.

nycnewsjunkie

Metro-North employees are MTA employees.

John Del Signore

Oh, it is ON! You gonna TAKE THAT, Dr. Zippy?

Steven

I have seen that countless times on Metro North. Out of 8 car train usually the last 2-3 cars are closed off - always during the off-peak hours. Seems like some conductors are too lazy walking back and fourth checking and collecting tickets.

There are though many conductors who are really nice people also.

Steven

Polite New Yorker

I have seen that countless times on Metro North. Out of 8 car train usually the last 2-3 cars are closed off - always during the off-peak hours. Seems like some conductors are too lazy walking back and froth checking and collecting tickets.

There are though many conductors who are really nice people also.