Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge

District addressing neighbors' complaints about hoops court

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

File photo by John Carlisle The Ferndale Board of Education is considering a proposal that would involve the installation of detachable basketball hoops and the construction of a new play structure at Roosevelt Primary School. District officials removed the hoops from the court on June 17 after more than two months of unruly pickup basketball games culminated with one teen pulling a gun on another.

FERNDALE/PLEASANT RIDGE — A proposal to improve the outdoor playground area of Roosevelt Primary School has drawn support from school and city officials, as well as neighbors who had expressed concern about loud, disruptive games of basketball on the school’s hoops court.

The plan — which was presented to the Ferndale Board of Education’s operations committee by Roosevelt principal Dina Krause on Aug. 12 — would include the installation of removable basketball hoops, a new play structure, swings, a reading area and a community garden.

For many residents in the area, Krause’s proposal was welcomed with open arms. Pleasant Ridge City Councilman Frank Rubino lives down the street from Roosevelt and said that the basketball games have been a nuisance for a long time.

“Some neighbors have been complaining about this for over two years,” he said. “A lot of parents wouldn’t let their children go up there to play anymore because these adults were intimidating people and exhibiting poor behavior. … For myself and others, we just feel that it’s inappropriate to have full-court basketball at a K-3 school.”

The problems at Roosevelt began to escalate earlier this year, Rubino said. Since April, the Pleasant Ridge Police Department had been receiving frequent complaints about large crowds gathering to play pickup basketball for hours at a time and sometimes late at night. According to Police Chief Karl Swieczkowski, the games often involved players yelling, using foul language, littering and urinating on neighbors’ property.

The problem reached its peak on the evening of June 16, when an argument between a group of about 30 teenagers and young adults resulted in one man threatening another with a handgun. In response to the incident, officials from Ferndale schools removed the basketball hoops from the court the following day.

Swieczkowski said that Pleasant Ridge police have not experienced any complaints about Roosevelt since the rims were taken down.

According to Chuck Moeser, president of the Ferndale school board, he and other board members support the idea of using removable hoops on the court that could be taken down at the end of each school day. Still, he stressed that he would not want to go so far as to completely eliminate basketball from the property.

“This is definitely a big issue,” he said, “and we need to make sure we have the safest area possible over there. But at the same time, we also want to have a spot for kids go and play basketball. For a lot of these kids, basketball gives them a positive outlet and keeps them out of trouble.”

Moeser added, however, that if Krause’s full proposal is brought to fruition, it would “optimistically” cost around $20,000 and could be completed no sooner than next spring. To help get the project off the ground, Krause is currently seeking grant money from the national nonprofit organization KaBOOM — a group dedicated to keeping play spaces alive for children in America.

The removable basketball rims, meanwhile, could be installed as early as this fall. “The operations committee will have to make their recommendations to the board, but that probably won’t be until October or November,” Moeser said. “At this point, those hoops will stay down until the board makes its final vote on this issue.”

That sounded like a good idea to Pleasant Ridge City Manager Sherry Ball, who has had a front row seat to many of the problems that have unfolded on Roosevelt’s basketball court.

“I’m still hopeful that (the school board) will still consider taking the hoops down for good,” she said. “But if they can clean up the area and make sure it’s not a nuisance in the afternoon, at night and in the summertime, then we’ll be delighted. We just want to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

As for the issue of providing a place for local youths to play basketball, Rubino suggested that the school board allow Roosevelt’s gymnasium to be used to host competitive summer basketball leagues for a minimal fee. He noted that when he lived in St. Clair Shores many years ago, this strategy proved to be very effective at eliminating similar neighborhood concerns.

He also supports Krause’s long-term goal of making Roosevelt’s outdoor area friendlier for the young children who attend the school and use its facilities.

“I thought she had a great idea — it seems like a really suitable plan for that space,” Rubino said. “I also really appreciate the school board responding to our request and working with us to find a solution.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jSelweski@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5004.