18טער עווניו פארק אין בארא פארק איבערגעבויט

CBS) BROOKLYN A three-acre Brooklyn park is about to be renovated over the objections of neighborhood handball and basketball players who will lose half their courts in the process.

"I think it stinks in plain English. It stinks," said 56-year-old handball player Peter Tartulli.

The city park is Gravesend Park, located in the Mapleton section of Brooklyn at 56th Street and 18th Avenue, bordering Borough Park and Bensonhurst.

The eastern half of the park, with its two basball fields, outdoor hockey rink, four handball courts and basketball court will be left alone. The portion at issue is the western half of the park which is currently part children's park and part playing courts.

There are four handball courts and one and-a-half basketball courts slated to be demolished. In fact, a bulldozer and an end locader were in action today, fecing off the area for demolition. What's on the drawing board is to replace the current children's park with a green space that includes trees. And where the adjacent courts are will be one of the largest playgrounds in the city.

City Council member Simcha Felder is behind the changes, saying it will make the playground area twice the existing size, "which will mean both play activity, room for running around, for children of all ages will be doubled," he said.

But opponents wonder, why eliminate playing courts that are a popular attraction for young adults and teens? One handball player, Mo Johnson, said "They're great teenagers. There's a high school right here. They all come here, they have decent fun, they don't have trouble.They all play in the park," handball player Mo Johnson said.

While there's a signature petition drive underway, trying to stop what's already started, approval was granted by both the community board and the arts council. Felder said construction should take less than six months to complete.