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The city plans to construct six tennis courts near the historic Van Cortlandt House Museum and an adjacent American Indian burial ground in the Bronx, a move critics say will ruin the historic nature of the site.
"The councilwoman and the community board want it," Parks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum said about plans to build the courts near the Van Cortlandt House Museum, the city and national landmark where George Washington once slept, and the adjacent parade grounds, once the site of a American Indian village and burial ground for Indians and dogs. Built in 1748, the house in Van Cortlandt Park is the oldest in the Bronx.
Councilwoman June Eisland, chairwoman of the Land Use Committee, won $751,000 last June from the City Council for the project. And the Parks and Recreation Committee of Community Board 8 voted unanimously last fall to approve recommendation of the location.
According to Eisland, who lives in Riverdale, "The courts are extraordinarily important in my community. Constituents have been asking for them for years. I want the courts and I've been assured by Betsy that there is no problem with the site."
Eisland said she fought for the funding and site after consulting with the Van Cortlandt Tennis Association, which gathered 2,000 petition signatures requesting more courts.
The organization's president, Paul Hecht, said the location is ideal because it is within walking distance of the elevated train on Broadway...