PKLYN pickleball opens October 6th

A pickleball court in Gowanus and the rap song that made it all possible

I may be the only person left in New York City who can say this, but I’ve never played PickleBall. It’s true. I watch folks playing when I run the piers in Brooklyn Bridge Park, always amazed at the diversity of age of players and the fun folks seem to be having, but it’s never been something I’ve done. Well, that is until last week when I got a sneak peak at PKLYN (say Pick-Lin), a fantastic new state of the art indoor pickleball space on the edge of Gowanus. 

PKLYN—a beautiful, airy, five-court 18,000 square foot club with 12 skylights, a bar, lounge, locker rooms and showers, and private event spaces—comes from real estate lawyer and pickleball player David Friedman. The story goes that David began playing during COVID down at Brooklyn Bridge Park and quickly found a community; they spent every Tuesday evening together, taping down courts, taking turns bringing balls and paddles, and hanging out afterwards for a beer or a can of wine. The group grew quickly, as did the need for indoor space and a place to gather once COVID was in the rear view. 

“That group became our family during Covid,” David told me the other day when I visited the space. “We saw the group grow from 15,000 on NYC Pickleball Slack to 200,000 players in NYC. People needed a place to play. I am a real estate lawyer, and I wanted to open a home for the community.”

The PKLYN team (David is in the center).

Four years later, he’s got one. But the journey was not easy — he needed to find a massive space with high ceilings but without columns that would block line of sight, a tall order. After a year of searching, he finally found one in Gowanus – two buildings side by side; a storage space and a former office space – that met all his requirements. The only issue was the landlord; he wasn’t convinced that pickleball was going to be a thing (this was 3 years ago mind you). An event company wanted to rent the spaces, a tenant he thought was more secure. He called David and told him he was going with the other tenant. 

David was crushed. But not defeated; he wasn’t ready to give up. He decided to do something unexpected. He went on Fivr, found a freelance rap artist, and had him write a rap song for the landlord, describing his dream, his vision, and the kind of community he planned to build in the space. “Bill, Hello Bill! … I just wanna talk about a space in Brooklyn…You see I got a dream, having a first class pickleball facility, I’m hoping we can get a lease, I know it’s a hot property, but in us you got folks who will treat it properly,” it started. (Listen to the full song here). David texted him the song and Bill was in. Apparently David had him at Hello. David got the space. 

Three years later, Pklyn it is set to open on Sunday October 6th. The pretty purple club was designed by Alex Kass, whose agency, AMP Digital Collaborative, conceptualized the PKLYN brand including its logo and adorable pigeon for a mascot. “I love pigeons! They are badass birds and underestimated and cool,” says David. “They are tough and have spirit, like this city.” 

The club is for everyone, all levels, all ages, with programming and lessons for kids through adults. No membership is required, but if you want you can become one ($100/month and get a 10% discount on courts and other perks; otherwise courts are $110 per hour for 4 people and drop ins are $30 for two hours.) “Pickleball is a very social sport, you just play and chat and drink and eat switch partners,” says David. “I want it to be a 3rd place for people.” 

There will be skill clinics with PKLYN coach Duy Tran, an experienced pickleball coach and anchor of the New York pickleball community, as well as private lessons, leagues for all skill levels, round-robin style tournaments, and open play nights.

Beyond regular programming, the team is planning a calendar of special events including mixers for socializing and networking, theme plays, and seasonal events that center on community building. It’s a perfect space for a birthday or a company get together; they will do partial and full venue buy-outs. 

Me and my friend Erica after our first game — so much fun!

At the bar and in the lounges you’ll find cocktails, wine, beer, sandwiches, cheese, charcuterie and snacks from a list of local New York partners: custom sandwiches and charcuterie platters from Alidoro. Threes Brewing provides a selection of their most popular beers on tap, including the Vliet, Gowanus Gold, a seasonal Lager, and a rotating IPA. For specialty cocktails, PKLYN has a variety of canned alcoholic beverages from Social Hour, the brand behind the award-winning team at Clover Club.

For buyouts and special events, PKLYN has a short list of preferred culinary partners – this includes pizzas from beloved chef Justin Smillie’s popular mobile wood-fired pizza pop-up Slowfires; and a variety of Mediterranean offerings from Claudette’s. PKLYN will also host collaborations with other food and beverage purveyors across the city post-opening, including food truck pop-ups and the like.

I’m hooked so I am definitely going back – I might even do a Strong Buzz night, who knows! Enjoy. 

Pklyn is located at 80 4th Street, between Hoyt and Bond Streets. It is open Sunday through Thursday from 6am-10pm and Friday through Saturday 6am-12am. Court reservations are $100 per hour with balls and paddles available for rent on-site. Online reservations can be made 14 days in advance. For more information, visit www.pklyn.com or follow @pklynofficial.