As mentioned in my last post, many New York City skate parks have recently closed due to a variety of reasons.
Skaters (there are an estimated 1,000,000 in the city), with no where to go, have turned to local skate spots as their new home. These include park benches, store front ledges, and even the front steps to office buildings.
In short, they are not welcome there. In the past few years New York has opened up a few new skate parks in an attempt to rid the streets of these skaters.
Chelsea Piers skate park was closed down many years ago. They used to charge money for skaters to enter the park and use all the features. They did not draw a large crowd, and soon closed down due to lack of revenue. On May 17, 2010, Chelsea Piers opened a brand new concrete skate park that was free to the public. It has features ranging from stair sets and hand rails, to pools and bowls. No matter if you are a beginner skater or an expert, you will love the park.
Only a few months later, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a free skate park was constructed by two brothers Joe and Gavin Maloof. The entire park cost $1.15 million, and is perfect for New York skaters who miss their skate spots. Every feature in the park is a replica of popular skate spots around the city.
Although some spots are closing around the city, parks are continuing to open up for the public to enjoy.