Spring 2021

NEWSLETTER OF THE RACQUET CLUB ON PARK HILL

A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Health Issues

Members of the storied Racquet Club on Park Hill in Yonkers are looking forward with guarded optimism, health-wise, to the new social and athletic season that lies just ahead. The club’s (fully-masked) fall- to-spring pickleball competition on weekends and winter bowling league on Tuesday and Thursday evenings are gradually winding down. Meanwhile, the red-clay tennis courts should be ready for play by early May (weather permitting), and the pool is being prepared for its end-of-May opening during the Memorial Day week end.

From informal conversations, it’s clear that most Park Hill club adult members have hastened to get their Covid-19 inoculations against the original strain of the virus. Health experts say those already vaccinated are adequately protected from the variants as well. But till there’s herd immunity, it’s widely assumed an additional booster injection later this year will be needed against existing and as-yet-unknown variants, which experts say are more infectious than the original strain.

Current Social Events

The club’s 13-member Board of Governors, led by Directors Justine Henry, Patty Gamba and Kirsten Barbera, and long-time Treasurer Matt Krawiec, have seen an uptick in week-end social activity lately, as the weather has been warming up. On Friday evenings, the club is open at 6 pm for drinks on the porch (with a heater if necessary) or in the lounge with air purifier, sanitized surfaces and social distancing. Open bowling is available both Friday evenings and on Sundays starting at 2 pm.

A big thank you to Justine for leading the many fall and winter bonfire gatherings on Friday evenings. Justine and Chrissy Gervais also organized the popular annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3rd, when 17 children happily scrambled about the club grounds searching for the brightly colored eggs.

The Upcoming Social Calendar

Until health precautions come off, the club expects this summer to continue to bring popular food trucks to the club for big social gatherings. Stop by at the lounge (wearing masks and observing social distancing) for some drinks on Friday evenings.

We’ll have a Siete de Mayo (Friday, May 7th) evening rather than the usual Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) party. Our excellent bartenders, Kathy and Sean, are fully vaccinated. The Board has also been planning clean- up, planting and beautification activities by volunteers for those first two weekends of May. Details will be sent via email in the coming days.

On Saturday, May 15th, the club will serve as the host area for the “Secret Gardens of Park Hill” walking garden tour in conjunction with the club’s own annual spring Open House. Visitors will check in at the club and attend tours of several of the beautiful gardens in our neighborhood. On the club’s grounds, club member Kathryn Buckley will help organize the annual day-long Garden Tour of the Park Hill Residents’ Association (PHRA).

The event will include a “House Tour” of the club for interested visitors by our Board members. The day will end with an evening “Secret Garden” party for club members and garden party volunteers.

Justine has arranged for the popular Three Little Pigs food truck to return to the club for the Friday, May 28th, party on Memorial Day week end, when the pool opens. Sunday, May 30th, will feature the first of the club’s three annual fun tennis tournaments (along with the Fourth of July and Labor Day tournaments). Monday is the rain date.

The Board is already thinking about organizing a karaoke party as soon as late spring, but no date has been definitively chosen. The idea is to hold it outside for safety reasons, so a week end afternoon is likely the best time. Special thanks to Patty Gamba and Tom (Westy) Westmoreland for organizing the club’s semi- annual karaoke parties run by Justine Faith of the excellent karaoke firm, NightStar DJ.

PLANNING FOR SUMMER ATHLETICS

Preparation of the Pool

The Pool Committee is now hard at work getting the pool rejuvenated – repatched, repaired and repainted – for the upcoming season. Thanks to members of that committee – Robert Moment, Karin White, Chrissy Gervais, Gaby Cinquemani and Pam Opdyke – who have been repainting the chairs, power-washing the pool environs and recruiting lifeguards. Each year they also implement the legal requirements imposed by the City of Yonkers to ensure maximum safety in the use of the facility by club members and their guests.

Preparation for the Tennis Season

Thanks also to the Tennis Committee, led for many years by Patty Gamba, for their hard work in running the club’s tennis activities: liaising with the local company Oval in the opening, closing, care, repair and maintenance of our four beautiful red-clay courts, which are the envy of visiting tennis players; ensuring the daily rolling of the courts, either by our houseman/super, Roger Herrera; spreading calcium and replacement “red clay” (it’s really not clay at all but a kind of crushed rock) when it’s washed away by rain; organizing and running the club’s many annual tournaments; regularly communicating the rules of play on the courts to members when reminders must be sent out (like not wearing the wrong shoes on the red-clay courts); and organizing the daily schedule of play.

The tennis committee welcomes Ingrid Krawiec, our newest weekend tennis court attendant. Special thanks to Steve Spiegler, Todd Geremia and Bob Gopalan for volunteering to help out with the court rolling duties in emergency situations. Much gratitude also goes to Steve for his years of conscientiously helping with the seasons-long care and maintenance of the courts.

The committee also recruits the professional tennis coaches who teach at the club each year, while working out the rates they charge to members and non-members, as well as to their children. For adults this summer, we will again have our popular and excellent tennis pro, Ola.

Moreover, Patty and Westy have just reached agreement with two fine coaches from the Yonkers Tennis Club (YTC) – Vito Galatioto and Alexa Goldberg – to work this year with children of members and non- members. Alexa and Vito have organized themselves professionally to work for the club under the name AV Tennis.

Particular thanks go to Patty and Westy for their many efforts in organizing and running the home and away matches between the PHRC members and those of other social clubs in the county. The Westchester County Tennis League (WCTL) is made up mainly of men’s teams but also often includes ladies taking part with the men. The women’s league is known as the Metropolitan Inter-club Tennis League (MITL).

UPDATE ON FALL-WINTER-SPRING SPORTING ACTIVITIES

Team Standings and Personal Stats of the Bowling League

Through week 17 of the Winter Bowling League, “The Cure” – the team of Robert Klein, Pam Opdyke andBillDennison--wasinfirstplacewith74points. Insecondplacewith57pointswere“PattyandtheJ’s”: Patty Gamba, Joe Gamba and Jose Alvarado. In third place with 55 points was “Men and a Lady,” composed of Annmarie Ennis, William Schmid and Ed Schmid. And in fourth place with 52 points was “Kingsdale”: Pat O’Hanlon, Joe Garcia and Bill Coffey.

The top 10 personal high games were bowled by: Robert Klein, 225; Bill Dennison, 213; Pat O’Hanlon, 212; Kevin Klein, 204; Jose Alvarado, 203; Joe Garcia, 190; Patty Gamba, 189; Joe Gamba, 189; Annmarie Ennis, 188; and Bill Coffey, 187. The top ten personal high scratch series were bowled by: Bill Dennison, 554; Pat O’Hanlon, 540; Kevin Klein, 539; Jose Alvarado, 531; Ed Schmid, 528; Robert Klein, 527; Patty Gamba, 469; Joe Gamba, 463; William Schmid, 458; and Annmarie Ennis, 457.

Thanks again to league president Jon Wallen for his assistance in keeping the lanes working well and to Steve Savard for doing the weekly updates of team and player statistics.

Results of the Pickleball Season

Many thanks to Jim Beirne, former president of the club, for enthusiastically running the pickleball competition this off-season. Jim has each week collected the names of members wishing to play on Saturday and Sunday mornings and handled communications with players. And thanks to Lyrica Leon for keeping track each year of the names of participants.

Pickleball warriors this off-season, besides Jim and Lyrica, have included Robert Klein, Todd Sacktor, Joe Harbeson, Jay Murrin, Brad Crownover, Steve Ross, Beth Ostergaard, Chris Dolin, rising star Lenox Dolin, Howie Weiss, Kathryn Buckley, Justine Henry, Jean Lambert, Paul Meissner, Annmarie Riccio, Amy Tucker, George Tucker, Aidan Beirne and Vic Mason. Speculation has swirled that if the club holds an end-of-season tournament, it might be called the Pickle Bowl.

WELCOME TO NEW CLUB MEMBERS

We are again seeing a surge of new members to the club this year. Please welcome, when you meet them: Bobby Tolli (single member), and the following new family members: Anne and Jesse Montero; Mishka Pitter and Rodrigo Armand; Jimmy and Elio Rugova; Danielle and Joseph Talone; the LaTuga family; and Mary Ellen O’Connor and Albert Notarfrancesco.

Returning from last fall’s new contingent are: Colette Titkin, Gary Hammond, Tom Wynter (with Krysta Harvey), Mark Shevrin, Michael Plaut, Peter Scher, Adam Spielberger, Stephanie O’Sullivan and Amy Hamlin.

A sincere, hearty welcome to all the new members!