Tennis Club Nets Praise

Vistas notwithstanding, the main draws -- no, the tennis puns won't stop coming -- are the seven indoor har-tru (green clay) courts; three international singles and one doubles squash courts (if you don't know what an international court is, consider a lesson before trying the game, and wear your safety goggles); a 2,000-square-foot fitness center; and full-service spa with all the requisite steam, sauna and massage pampering.

Facilities should be no more impressive than the staff's credentials, and such is the case here: The directors of tennis, Kirk Moritz and Joe Perez, have been highly regarded East Coach teaching professionals for decades.

Working for them are two pros with serious game: Daniel Montes de Oca played Davis Cup tennis for Uruguay and was once ranked No. 1 in the USTA 35-and-overs, while Juan Carlos Parker, a native of Peru, last year won the USTA National Men's 35-and-over Grass Court Championships.

Even the pro shop will have star power, run in partnership with Roman Prokes, who has strung rackets for the likes of John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.

Mike Weston, the director of squash, has taught full time for the past decade and a half and was recently ranked in the U.S. top four for the 35-39 age group. You get the picture: No high-school kid with his shirttail out coaching you.

Both tennis and squash programs will offer lessons, tournaments and help with matching up prospective playing partners.

CityView's arrival truly bucks a trend. Skyrocketing real-estate prices in the metropolitan area have precipitated the closing of umpteen tennis facilities over the past several years in favor of co-ops and condos. (An old favorite, Tennisport in Long Island City, has had its property taken by the city under eminent domain and expects to close soon. Is tennis no longer in the public interest?)

This has led to more players crowding onto already crowded and not always pristine Parks Department courts, paying through the nose to get between the lines at what few private clubs remain, or, like me, turning to golf's greener pastures.

With that in mind, CityView's pricing seems not at all unreasonable. The initiation fee is currently $1,200, with annual dues ranging between $1,600 (including everything but tennis) and $4,000 (full access), and corporate membership information available on request. Those numbers are expected to rise as the membership roll fills out.

Court time will be extra and is as yet undetermined, though according to a spokesperson the rates promise to be "competitive" -- something I'm sure not anymore.

For information, call 718-698-3664 or visit cityviewracquet.com.

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