In a story that we assume already has a green light for a bawdy film adaptation starring Vince Vaughn and several underrated character actors as a group of unlikely misfits, a group of handball players is organizing to save the handball court at Yosemite Recreation Center in Eagle Rock. The Eagle Rock Patch reported back in December that the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council has assembled a task force to address public safety for the park following a recent assault and a marijuana arrest. The handball court, with its H shape and resulting shadowy corners, was deemed the park's primary "menace"--a place for "older men" to drink. Drug use is also a problem, which is especially concerning because the handball court is just feet away from a children's playground that recently received a big upgrade.
The task force has suggested the possibility of tearing down or reconfiguring the handball court, or replacing it with a basketball court. At the most recent ERNC meeting, a group of handball players ("almost all of them from Highland Park"" says the Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch) argued for the preservation of the court, saying they keep "potential troublemakers at bay" and pay out of pocket to plant trees and "remove graffiti from the walls of the court as well as repair cracks and paint the surfaces." There was even one attendee who won a college scholarship for his "accomplishments in handball."
Whether this story has a happy ending for the Highland Park handball community is yet to be seen--no decision about the court has been made yet.
· Handball Players Defend Historic Court [Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch]
· Yosemite Park Task Force Brainstorms Security Issues [Eagle Rock Patch]
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