Tennis court guide

Brian Watkins Tennis Center

John V. Lindsay East River Park, FDR Dr at Delancey St, New York, NY 10002, United States

Courts: Hard
Season: Open year round
Hours: Open 7am to 8pm
Setup: Outdoor · No lights
Pricing: Unstaffed walk-on court; no attendant checks permits
Transit: Subway

First come, first served. Add your racket to the line when players are waiting. · One hour for singles, two hours for doubles.

Court details updated September 2026

What and where

Brian Watkins Tennis Center is the tennis complex inside John V. Lindsay East River Park on Manhattan's Lower East Side, just north of the Williamsburg Bridge between the FDR Drive and the river. There are twelve outdoor hard courts, laid out as two banks of six. The whole park was demolished and rebuilt roughly ten feet higher as a flood barrier for the Lower East Side under the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, and the courts reopened with it in 2025. They are the newest public courts in Manhattan.

Getting in takes a bridge. From the neighborhood, cross the FDR on the Delancey Street pedestrian bridge just south of the Williamsburg Bridge, or on the Corlears Hook Bridge further south. From the greenway you can also walk up from Pier 42. The nearest subway is Delancey St / Essex St on the F, J, M and Z, about ten minutes on foot. There is a water fountain just south of the courts by the mini soccer field.

Expect the elements. The rebuilt park has no mature trees yet, so there is no shade, and the wind comes straight off the East River. The Williamsburg Bridge and the FDR are loud neighbors. Regulars count that as a feature: the noise and the sun thin out the competition for a court, which makes this the best of the few options downtown.

How to get on court

Brian Watkins is walk-on only. There is no online reservation system, no sign-up sheet and no attendant at the gate. When courts are full, players line up by leaning their rackets against the fence near the entrance. Add yours to the end, and when a court opens the next racket in line takes it. Court time is one hour for singles and two hours for doubles when others are waiting. Ask whoever is already in line where you stand; the system runs on people talking to each other.

Courts open at 7am and close at 8pm. The 7am start is competitive, and because courts turn over on the hour, arriving ten minutes before the hour beats arriving ten minutes after. Weekday middays are the quiet window.

On permits: this is an NYC Parks court, so the $100 season permit or $15 single-play pass applies in season on paper. With no attendant, the Manhattan Tennis Association lists it as free play, and that is how regulars treat it. Off season, from the Sunday before Thanksgiving to April, no permit is needed anywhere in the system.

Getting on court

Is Brian Watkins first come, first served?

Yes. No reservations and no attendant. A racket line at the entrance fence sets the order when all twelve courts are full.

Do I need a permit?

On paper, yes in season (NYC Parks $100 season permit or $15 single-play pass). Nobody checks at Brian Watkins, and the Manhattan Tennis Association lists it as free. Off season, no permit is needed.

Can I book a court online?

No. Brian Watkins is not on the NYC Parks online-reservation list.

What are the hours?

7am to 8pm daily.

How many courts are there?

Twelve hard courts in two groups of six, all rebuilt when the park reopened.

How long can I play?

One hour of singles or two hours of doubles when others are waiting.

When is the best time to go?

Weekday late mornings and early afternoons. The 7am opening and weekend mornings draw a line. Arrive a few minutes before the hour, since courts change over on the hour.

What makes it notable

The center is named for Brian Watkins, a young tennis fan from Utah who was killed in 1990 while in New York with his family for the US Open. The courts carried his name through the old East River Park and kept it through the rebuild.

Before the reconstruction, East River Park was the Lower East Side's only large park and its tennis courts were a neighborhood institution. The rebuilt version sits on a raised deck engineered to hold back storm surge, which is why the courts are now above street level and why the park looks new: it is. For a Manhattan public court, twelve courts in one place is rare, and combined with walk-on access it is the closest thing downtown has to a court you can count on.

For more places to play, see the best public tennis courts in NYC or browse every court in the city. Pier 42, four more walk-on courts, is a five-minute walk south along the greenway. Then find a partner at your level on Doyouplay before you go.

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