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Buzzer beater? MTA vows to turn this SoHo pit into a basketball court in 30 days.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Nov 2, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
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Liam Quigley / Gothamist
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Liam Quigley
Published Nov 2, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
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A Downtown Manhattan basketball court that’s been in MTA construction purgatory for four years is set to reopen at the end of November, according to transit officials.
The refreshed Grand Canal Court at Sixth Avenue will feature new benches, a water fountain, upgraded lighting and fencing. The courts were ripped up in 2022 so workers could build a new substation that provides electricity to trains.
The MTA said in a December 2022 statement that the project would be complete by the end of 2024. Signage at the site states the project should have been done by April 2026.
Now, the MTA and parks department say the project will actually be done by the end of November — though making that deadline may require a buzzer beater.
The site was abuzz with activity Thursday. Crews were still working in pits below the street shored up with timber. The site has not yet been paved and none of the new amenities — or the basketball court and hoops — have been installed.
The construction site is right next to an entrance to the Canal Street station on the A,C,E line.
Liam Quigley / Gothamist
“We look forward to welcoming the community back to Grand Canal Court with an upgraded space for New Yorkers to come together, stay active and enjoy the game,” Alberto Roldan, the parks department borough commissioner, wrote in a statement.
The budget for the project was $45 million in 2014, but now it's nearly doubled to $83.7 million, according to MTA records. The agency blamed a host of issues for the increase, including unforeseen utility work.
The worksite is surrounded by litter, and straphangers must squeeze through a narrow passage to reach the Canal Street subway station entrance at Sixth Avenue.
John Underwood, 68, a retired city worker who has walked by the site for decades, was skeptical it would reopen soon.
“It might open in a year or two,” he said. “I had even forgotten it was a basketball court.”
A rendering of the basketball court planned at Grand Canal Court.
MTA
The wedge-shaped parkland was created by Sixth Avenue’s southern extension in the 1930s, said Andrew Berman, executive director of local civic group Village Preservation.
“These little oddly shaped lots along Sixth Avenue have been surprisingly popular and resilient recreational spaces over the years,” he said.
Not everyone wants the basketball court back. An online petition to replace it with a dog run has 2,200 signatures.
Berman compared the shifting demands to bocce courts in Manhattan giving way to ballfields and playgrounds. “Sometimes longtime uses disappear,” he said.
Herb Tam, an organizer with the Chinatown Basketball Club, remembered teenagers spilling from the Canal Street station and nearby schools to play ball at the park.
The job site at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street that will one day be a basketball court.
Liam Quigley / Gothamist
Tam said a closed park changes the feel of the whole block. “When you have live parks, the whole neighborhood around the park feels safer, he said.
“I can’t imagine our court closing for even, like, a month… let alone how long the courts over at Canal and Sixth Avenue have been closed,” he said.
“If I was one of the regulars, I probably would’ve found other places to play already.”
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parks
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Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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