Harlem kids soccer club claims victory in turf war with city

A kids Harlem soccer club is claiming victory in its turf war with the city Parks Department.

Even though the agency is kicking the Elephants off its longtime home field at Morningside Park, it has granted the group permission to play on a nearby field, and another across town.

The city’s move comes a week after The Post reported that Parks had barred the club from the 112th Street fields on several Saturdays this year and even issued the group a ticket last week.

“I want to emphasize that while this may be a disappointment to be moved off Morningside, please recognize that the fields we have been given are real soccer fields with artificial turf,” club manager Joe Lupton wrote to parents in an email. “Thousands of requests come in every year for these fields and Parks gave them to us.

“Please do not feel disheartened by this outcome. It should be viewed as a victory and a result of all the pressure you all put on the city and Parks Dept.”

The club’s younger cohort will practice three times a week at Frederick Douglass Park at 102nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, while the older boys will play once a week on the east side, in Thomas Jefferson Park, at 114th Street and 1st Avenue.

“As soon as the Mayor saw this story, he ordered that we get the Elephants back to stomping on a field worthy of their squad,” mayoral spokesman Bill Neidhardt said.