LeFrak has added free pickleball courts to Elephant Park within Jersey City’s acclaimed Newport community, with plans to ultimately create a permanent space. — Courtesy: LeFrak
By Joshua Burd
The fast-growing pickleball craze has arrived in Jersey City’s acclaimed Newport district, where LeFrak has transformed a plaza space into free pop-up courts that are open to the public.
The developer this week said it has carved out a section of the community’s Elephant Park —home to the Newport Skates outdoor ice rink in the winter — to create a hub for enthusiasts of the sport. It’s planning to build permanent pickleball courts in the waterfront neighborhood in the near future, LeFrak said, given the positive reaction to the pop-up.
The courts are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, the developer said. It’s among the latest additions to an area that spans hundreds of acres along the Hudson River, just south of the Holland Tunnel, where LeFrak has transformed a formerly industrial waterfront into a sprawling mix of retail, residential, office and recreation space.
