Pickleball Courts in New York
Quick Answer: Pickleball courts in New York City fall into three buckets. Free first come, first served courts like Hudson River Park Pier 76 and Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2. NYC Parks courts painted onto tennis surfaces, which require a paid tennis permit in season. And private clubs like CityPickle and Gotham Pickleball, where hourly court rates start around $80.
A dedicated pickleball court has permanent lines and its own net set 34 inches at the center, while a shared court is a tennis surface with pickleball lines added and a tennis net you play under. That distinction drives cost and access in New York, because shared courts sit inside the city’s tennis permit system and dedicated ones mostly do not.
Do You Need a Permit to Play Pickleball in New York?
Sometimes. It depends on which court you stand on.
NYC Parks lists pickleball locations with a plain yes or no column for tennis permits. At the sites marked yes, a permit is required during tennis season, which runs from the first Saturday in April to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. For 2026 that window was April 4 through November 22.
As of August 2026, an NYC Parks tennis permit costs $100 for adults 18 to 61, $20 for seniors 62 and over, and $10 for anyone under 18, with a 10 percent discount for IDNYC cardholders. A single-play permit is $15 and covers one hour of singles or two hours of doubles. Paying tennis money for pickleball is odd, but that is the system.
Where Are the Free Pickleball Courts in New York City?
Several, and the best of them need no permit at all.
- Hudson River Park Pier 76, Manhattan: free, no permit, no reservations, open 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Play is capped at one hour when people are waiting, and organized leagues and paid lessons are prohibited.
- Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2, Brooklyn: four free courts, open play only, year round, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Waiting players stack paddles to claim the next court. No lessons, programs or league permits.
- Leif Ericson Park, Brooklyn: 13 courts listed by NYC Parks with no tennis permit required.
- John J Carty Park, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: 10 courts, no permit required.
- Fairview Park, Staten Island: 3 courts, no permit required.
- Van Cortlandt Park, the Bronx: 1 court, no permit required.
- Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, Queens: 1 court, no permit required.
Free courts here are busy courts. Paddle stacking is the queue system, and knowing open play etiquette matters more in New York than almost anywhere else.
Which NYC Courts Require a Tennis Permit?
The bigger clusters, mostly, because they are painted on tennis courts. As of August 2026 the NYC Parks pickleball list flags these as tennis permit required:
- Highland Park, Brooklyn: 18 courts
- Juniper Valley Park, Queens: 9 courts
- Howard Bennett Playground, Harlem: 6 courts
- Roy Wilkins Recreation Center, Queens: 4 courts
- Winthrop Playground, Brooklyn: 2 courts
- John Jay Park, Manhattan: 1 court
Highland Park is the largest single listing in the five boroughs. Shared courts often have a tennis net rather than a regulation 34 inch pickleball net, and some lack permanent lines, so bring tape or a portable net. Our guide to finding public pickleball courts covers what to check before crossing a borough for nothing.
What Do Paid and Indoor Courts Cost in NYC?
Considerably more than the $2 to $6 drop-in typical at municipal facilities elsewhere. New York runs its own economy.
Gotham Pickleball in Long Island City has four indoor cushioned courts. As of August 2026, court rental ran $80 an hour off-peak and $110 at peak for non-members, dropping to $60 and $88 for members. A two hour open play session was $40, or $20 for Premier members. Memberships ran $60 a month for weekday access and $120 for the Premier tier.
CityPickle runs several locations: 14 outdoor courts at Wollman Rink in Central Park, 7 indoor in Times Square, 4 indoor in Long Island City, and a seasonal residency at Hudson Yards. The 2026 Wollman season opened April 21, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Community play sessions there were $5 per person as of August 2026.
Indoor supply is the constraint from December through March. Our guide to finding indoor pickleball courts covers rec center gym time, and the directory’s pickleball clubs listings cover paid options borough by borough.
How Do You Share Courts Without Starting a Fight?
Show up knowing the local rules, because they are posted and they vary by park.
Brooklyn Bridge Park caps play at one game when others wait and expects paddles stacked left to right. Hudson River Park caps play at one hour and bans organized leagues outright. On NYC Parks tennis courts in permit season, permit holders have the stronger claim, so carry proof and stick to courts lined for pickleball.
A recurring scene at Pier 76 on a Saturday morning: eight paddles stacked before 8 a.m., a rotation that self-organizes with no staff involved, and a line that moves faster than it looks. Stack, wait your turn, keep games to 11 and win by 2, and the whole thing works. Check the directory’s public pickleball court listings before heading out, since a court that needs a permit and one that does not can sit two subway stops apart.
FAQ
Do I need a permit to play pickleball in New York City?
Only at certain locations. NYC Parks requires a tennis permit at pickleball courts painted on tennis surfaces during tennis season, which ran April 4 to November 22 in 2026. Dedicated sites like Pier 76 and Pier 2 need none.
How much is an NYC tennis permit and does it cover pickleball?
As of August 2026 the season permit was $100 for adults 18 to 61, $20 for seniors 62 and up, and $10 for youth under 18, with a $15 single-play option. That is the permit NYC Parks requires at its permit-flagged pickleball courts.
Where can I play pickleball for free in NYC?
Hudson River Park Pier 76 in Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2, Leif Ericson Park and John J Carty Park in Brooklyn, Fairview Park on Staten Island, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Rockaway Beach boardwalk in Queens.
What is the biggest pickleball court cluster in NYC?
Highland Park in Brooklyn, listed by NYC Parks at 18 courts, then Leif Ericson Park at 13 and John J Carty Park at 10. Highland Park requires a tennis permit; the other two do not.
Can you play pickleball in Central Park?
Yes, at Wollman Rink, which CityPickle converts into 14 outdoor courts each season. The 2026 season opened April 21 with hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Community play sessions were $5 per person as of August 2026.
How much does indoor pickleball cost in New York City?
Expect $80 to $110 per hour for a court at a private club, or $20 to $40 per person for open play, based on Gotham Pickleball’s published August 2026 rates. Memberships knock those numbers down.
Are NYC pickleball courts open in winter?
Some are. Pier 2 and Pier 76 are open year round, weather permitting. NYC Parks courts inside the tennis permit system follow the April to November season, so winter play moves indoors to rec centers and private clubs.
Do I need my own net at NYC public courts?
Sometimes. Dedicated sites have permanent nets, but shared tennis surfaces may leave you playing under a tennis net or taping your own lines. A portable net and court tape are worth carrying for those locations.
Why are pickleball and tennis players fighting over NYC courts?
Court supply. Most permit-required pickleball locations are tennis courts with pickleball lines added, so both sports draw from the same surfaces in the same April to November permit season. Dedicated builds like Fairview Park and Pier 2 ease the pressure where they exist.
Courts here change fast, with new lines painted and old sites reassigned every season. Keep the Pickler Junction directory bookmarked and check the New York listings before you pack a paddle. And if the Midwest ever calls, the Kansas City league scene will feel refreshingly simple by comparison.
Written by the Pickler Junction Team.
