Brooklyn’s McCarren Park Tennis Courts Open Under Access Fixtures Lights

NYC Parks and the Brooklyn tennis community celebrated the full illumination of all seven public courts, completing the two-year Light Up McCarren campaign.

WORCESTER, MA, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Access Fixtures, a manufacturer of high-performance commercial, industrial, and sports LED lighting, joined NYC Parks and the Brooklyn tennis community on September 23 to cut the ribbon on new public tennis court lighting at McCarren Park. All seven courts are now lit and open to the public into the evening. The opening completes “Light Up McCarren,” a two-year grassroots campaign led and funded by the McCarren tennis community.

A Celebration for Brooklyn

NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura led the celebration alongside McCarren Tennis Association Corp. (MTAC) Executive Director Bart Javier, USTA Eastern Section President Ari Roberts, New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler, and community members. Access Fixtures CEO Steven Rothschild attended. The evening featured community tennis for kids and adults, family activities across the courts, and the first serve under the new lights.

Spectrum News NY1 covered the opening in a segment titled “New Lights at McCarren Park Tennis Courts,” showing all seven courts full of players under the new lights. BKReader also reported on the opening.

Built by the Community

MTAC raised $300,000 for the campaign through its annual community ladders, social events, merchandise sales, individual donations, and local business partnerships. USTA National and the USTA Eastern Section added two reimbursable funding grants in 2026 and were among the project’s largest supporters. NYC Parks approved the work through its Adopt-A-Park program, which allows community organizations to fund permanent improvements on public parkland. Construction began after a community groundbreaking celebration on July 7, 2026.

What the Opening Means for New Yorkers

According to NYC Parks, the new lighting adds the equivalent of one full month of playing time per year at one of Brooklyn’s busiest public tennis destinations. The project brings light to courts that previously had none, so all seven courts are now lit through the 11 p.m. closing. Any New Yorker with a city tennis permit can play. The longer evening hours also let MTAC expand its free programming, including clinics and lessons for children and seniors.

Behind the Lights

Access Fixtures has worked with MTAC since June 2024, when the campaign was pricing the project. Bob McCormick, Senior Lighting Specialist at Access Fixtures, led the project for MTAC alongside the Access Fixtures lighting engineering team through three phases:

Design: Access Fixtures lighting engineers produced the photometric analysis, and Bob supplied the quotes MTAC used to fundraise. When MTAC relocated two poles in April 2026, the engineering team recalculated the layout, and light levels improved.
City review: Access Fixtures supplied the cut sheets, optic details, photometric reports, and structural data NYC Parks required for approval.
Delivery: When the freight carrier lost the anchor bolts in transit, Access Fixtures sent replacements by dedicated driver, and installation stayed on schedule.

The Public Tennis Court Lighting at a Glance

Fixtures: 34 ASTA LED Sports Lights, Superior Optics, EXTREME-LIFE
Total output: 3,453,498 lm at 134.2 lm/W
Calculated court levels: 50.4 to 57.0 fc average per court
Color temperature: 5000K
Rated life: L70 @ 200,000 hours
Mounting: 40 ft on 12 poles, including eight new poles

Planning a Court Lighting Project?

Access Fixtures lighting specialists deliver three things for public and private tennis courts: photometric studies before you fundraise or buy, submittal documents for city and parks review, and delivery coordinated with your contractor’s schedule. Call an Access Fixtures lighting specialist at 800-468-9925 to start a photometric study.

About Access Fixtures

Access Fixtures manufactures high-performance commercial, industrial, and sports LED lighting built for demanding environments. Access Fixtures serves municipalities, universities, sports facilities, and commercial properties across the United States. Learn more at accessfixtures.com or call 800-468-9925.

Steven Rothschild
Access Fixtures
+1 800-468-9925
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