Coffee Flats Terrors

Last week I took a walk by JJ Walker park in the West Village to find out if it was being fixed up for this past weekend's citywide bocce tournament. The court had a giant blue tarp covering the surface. I was happy to see the wooden sideboards had been repaired. I spent my Saturday participating in other bocce events, so I wasn't able to check out the action on this court.

This is the same court I took a look at in May 2006. Since that time I've played a lunchtime game there with some co-workers. I was nervous about the lack of wooden side rails. The hard packed dirt surface got muddy pretty easily. Basically, the fix-up the court underwent was much needed. It's possible my co-workers and I were the only ones to play bocce on this court all summer.

This afternoon I stopped by the court to check out the post-tournament condition. While not as nice as the courts at Dreier Offerman Park, it has definitely been improved. I took a few snapshots with my camera phone.

The surface material is much better. It's a little dusty for my tastes, and I'm not sure it's 100% flat. Also, I didn't notice any type of scoreboard. The throwing lines on the sides are poorly marked with bright green paint. It's going to be tough to call foot faults here.

Anyway, I'm rounding up some friends to gather here Sunday afternoon. I'll have some better pictures and a report of how the court plays after that.