A court is only as good as the games on it.
Resurfacing is the start. What keeps a court alive is everything that happens on it afterwards — leagues, clinics, tournaments, and a bus that turns up with a rim on the back.
After the ribbon
Two things decide whether a restored court gets used: who shows up to run the games, and what the place looks like when you walk in.
Resurfacing is the start. What keeps a court alive is everything that happens on it afterwards — leagues, clinics, tournaments, and a bus that turns up with a rim on the back.
Paint on the ground
A resurfaced court is rarely just green asphalt. Across NYCHA, artists and residents design what goes on the ground and on the walls — seven stars for Brownsville, You Belong in twenty languages in Hell's Kitchen, a P at center court in Queens.
The Public Housing Community Fund's public art collection is free to browse on Bloomberg Connects, the arts and culture app.
In August 2023, Patterson Houses unveiled a mural honoring four of its own: boxing world champion Iran "The Blade" Barkley, NBA Hall of Famer Nate "Tiny" Archibald, actor Luis Antonio Ramos and recording artist Prince Royce. It went up during the development's Old Timers' Day, and it began as one of more than a hundred ideas residents submitted for their own open space.
Joel Bergner of Artolution led the painting with about twenty-five residents — children, teenagers and seniors — alongside artists Eliecer Bermudez and Angela. The walls around the main panel carry neighbors rather than names you would know: grandmothers, kids, pets that have died, and one child's painting of a swimming pool the development doesn't have.
Not only did I want to replace it with him, but I wanted to replace it with more heroes from Patterson — because we've got a lot of heroes in Patterson. This is also to change the mindset of our children.
Patricia Simpson, Patterson Resident Association President
Our partner on the blacktop
Hoopbus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rooted in the belief that basketball has the power to transform lives, build bridges and uplift communities. They bring the game where it's needed most, in their vehicles of change.
Between school assemblies, community events, tournaments and the virality of basketball played in the streets during annual Knicks playoff runs, the bus has become synonymous with New York's basketball culture. Their free 3x3 tournament rotates to a new court each month, where youth squads forge trust through competition and build relationships with kids they'd never otherwise meet.
Hoopbus has led the refurbishment of more than 35 courts around the world, including three in New York. Each court inauguration is a celebration of the community, its history and its leaders, connected by intergenerational programming.
Be part of restoring the courts that made New York a basketball city. Every court counts — and so does every gift.
● Donate to Our Courts