“You have to work your way up to tennis,” said Walter Odom, who spent 20 years working for the city before he got the Fort Greene Park tennis courts gig.”

EARLY BIRDS “I get up early, so I can wake myself up, pack up all my stuff I need. I leave the house at 5:25 a.m. and wake myself up as I get along. Sometimes I stop by the bodega in the morning and they have my coffee ready for me. I get to the park at 6:15 and my morning crew of players is already here. They get on the court at daybreak. I had someone this morning say: “Hey, tell this guy he’s got to go. He’s been playing too long!” And I tell them, Listen, that don’t count. Timekeeping starts at 8 o’clock. If you get out of your bed at 5 o’clock, and sit out here in the dark, and sit and wait until daybreak, you can stay on for two hours if you want. They can even take their shirts off then. Once 8 o’clock comes, they know they’ve got to get off the court.”

“Timekeeping starts at 8 o’clock. If you get out of your bed at 5 o’clock, and sit out here in the dark, and sit and wait until daybreak, you can stay on for two hours if you want.” “Timekeeping starts at 8 o’clock. If you get out of your bed at 5 o’clock, and sit out here in the dark, and sit and wait until daybreak, you can stay on for two hours if you want.”

ROOTS “Growing up in Fort Greene, we had a lot people that came from different parts of the south, and a lot of Italians, Puerto Ricans, even a couple of Filipinos. We farmed in Fort Greene Park. My mom planted scallions and potatoes, and the Italians showed my mom how to pick out the mushrooms you actually wanted to eat. We shared recipes, everybody shared. Where I grew up, in the ’60s or the ’70s, it was like all hands on deck.”

Fort Greene Park (Fort Greene in general) has changed considerably since I was a member of Brooklyn Tech's tennis team in the late 80s.

used to play here a couple years ago when i lived in the city. love Walter!!

That's my tennis pal Mike in the green shirt on court behind the fence. I played the Fort Greene ladder last year, and some tournaments as well. There is a great concentration of quality tennis players around FG. Busy courts, good times! Tennis in New York is on a high the last few years, no doubt.

Good to know.

This article is from August.

By the way, the city only pays this guy $18/hour. He's worked for the city for decades and he'll retire destitute after this, even with the high tier pension. That's how much the city appreciates this guy they volunteered to have a puff piece written about.

The article from August clearly states that it’s from August. Congrats on basic reading skills.

I don’t know this man’s financial situation and neither do you but he was happy to spend time being interviewed and detail his life’s work. I’m sure Mr. Odom would appreciate his career not being denigrated by transplanted snobs such as yourself.

Peak reddit strikes again folks.

This article was posted here in August when it was published.

And you should care if the city is paying this guy who has dedicated decades of his life to the city a substandard wage.

The city should be ashamed.

I check the salary on SeeThroughNY every time I see the city or some news organization praise some quaint and cheery city worker. Almost always they're paid a tad over minimum wage despite decades of service. It's foul.

You are a cliche and you don't even know it

Should Mr. Odom be paid more? Of course he should, however his salary was not the focus of the article rather it was his years of work experience manning the tennis courts. The article painted Mr. Odom in a positive light as a hard working man beloved by the community. I’m interested in tennis and here is a story that has a positive slant without the usual backhanded compliments or insincere platitudes aimed at low income minority workers.

My feeling on this thread is that unnecessary and off-topic negativity was brought by mentioning his salary and speculation in his ending up destitute. It’s not a revelation that Park’s & Rec jobs are some of the lowest paid government jobs in the nation. This subreddit has enough Post articles and (mostly legitimate) tales of woe. It’s OK to change the subject.

That’s all I want to say on the topic. Have a nice day.

>The article painted Mr. Odom in a positive light as a hard working man beloved by the community

Then pay him what he's worth. It's fun for people to gawk and clap at the underclasses who break their backs with a smile, I guess.