“Brooklyn Banks” a national skateboarding landmark set to be closed until 2014.
By Frank Dutan
A skate park located next to the Brooklyn Bridge, called the Brooklyn Banks, has over the years become an iconic skating spot in New York City. Although strewn with broken beer bottles and the acrid stench of urine, the Banks, which is about the size of a football field, offers skaters - novices and professionals - a brick paved road resembling a valley with several skate ramps and an obstacle course. With the marble ledges and smooth rails in Midtown Manhattan and the Wall Street area heavily guarded, the Banks offers skaters, those who do not want any trouble with the authorities, a safe haven; achieving its iconic status as one of the premier skate spots on the East Coast because of its street like feel.In 2004, the Banks became so popular that city administrators stepped in and proposed a plan to reconstruct the skate site as a green park and placed barricades to make sure skaters could no longer use the space.
When Steve Rodriguez, owner of 5boro Skateboards and a skateboarder himself, learned of the city’s plan, he decided to come to the aid of the Banks and managed to convince the city of the skate site’s benefit to many young people; eventually he became a skateboarding consultant for the city.
Recently, protests increased against closing the Banks. The New York City Department of Transportation issued a statement, which said that a Brooklyn Bridge rehabilitation project is slated to begin in 2010 with an expected completion date sometime in 2014. “After the painting work in this area is complete, anticipated for mid 2010, the park will be reopened with the exception of the storage area,” said the DOT in its statement. This means that by mid 2010 only half of the Banks will be available.
While there are insufficient rinks for skaters in New York City, those that exist do not offer free skating. There is the Houston Skate Park on the city’s West Side, which charges $10 admission, and insists on that all skaters must wear a helmet and sign a waiver if the skater is under 18 for insurance coverage. However, in the vicinity of the Banks, there are a few free skate parks, but none which are able to cater to the number of skating enthusiasts the Banks attract.
But, while the Banks is not equipped with 12-foot high half pipes, ramps and other amenities as in other protected spaces, it offers instead street curbs and the edges of benches: all essential to the street skateboarding scene.A frequent skater, 15-year-old Alexander Barna, complained, “That sucks. I don’t think the city would keep their word. What if they return it in bad condition? The place is fragile already. I mean there are so many spots around here but it’s hard to find one as convenient as the Banks, plus one without security or free. I don’t know what I’ll do without skating. The city should at least give us something back in return, it’s not like were committing crimes”
