Recreation officials said Thursday that they took down a basketball rim this week at Oakley Playground, on Paxton Road near the Hyde Park Plaza.

Jim Garges, director of the Recreation Commission, said he has received complaints about people yelling profanities, smoking marijuana and using alcohol at the playground. Neighborhood residents have also complained about loud music, people parking in their driveways, litter and some vandalism.

Garges said recreation officials have been trying to deal with the problem for six months. He said the police, Oakley's Community Problem Oriented Policing team and Cincinnati Human Relations Commission monitors have all tried to talk with some of the men at the playground.

"We asked them to make sure they are out of there by 10 p.m. and that there be no cussing, screaming or yelling. We just can't get good cooperation," Garges said. "If you can't get the people who use the park to be respectful, then you have to pay attention to what the neighbors' concerns are. We just can't have that kind of activity."

In his search for the nation's best pickup basketball courts, author Chris Ballard called Oakley Playground the "best outdoor court in the Queen City" in his 1998 book Hoops Nation. The court has a reputation for competitive games that draw players from around Greater Cincinnati, including from the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. Former UC standout and Portland Trailblazers star Nick Van Exel has been among drop-ins at the court.

Tom Choquette, an Oakley resident and frequent player, acknowledged that some unsavory activity does occasionally take place. However, he said, it is not fair to punish everyone who likes to play there because of a few "bad seeds."

"It's one of the few places in Cincinnati where you can get a good, competitive game," said Choquette. "The majority of people going down there are going to play basketball. Why prevent everyone due to a couple of bad seeds?"

Garges said Oakley Playground's basketball court has been reduced from full to a half-court. He said it could return to full-court at a later time when the "bad element" has moved on.

"They are just going to have to be patient," Garges said.

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com