NYCSK8: Where to Skate: Skateparks

Information about all public skateparks operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation can be found at nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_skate_park.html. All city-operated parks require a waiver; a copy is available on the website.

Manhattan

Chelsea Piers Skate Park
Pier 62, 23rd St. at West Side Hwy.

Park no longer exists. After about ten years of use, the rink and skatepark on Pier 62 were ripped out in 2006 and the area made part of the waterside park. That change may not be permanent, as the Hudson River Park Trust's website indicates that future plans for rebuilding Pier 62 include a skate park.

Hudson River Park Skatepark
Hudson River Park at 30th St. (i.e., approx. West Side Hwy. at 30th St., north of the heliport)
www.hudsonriverpark.org/facilities/skatepark.htm

An outdoor park which opened in late 2002 in Tribeca but which later moved north up the park about 50 blocks.

As of 2007, the park is open only during the summer, but is open seven days a week, Mon-Fri 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Inliners and boarders welcome, but not BMX bikes.

Admittance free, but helmet required and skaters under 18 must have full pads. The website has a waiver which needs to be turned in before you skate.

Not too advanced a layout. Bowl is about six feet deep and mini-ramp about four feet tall with extension. Two funboxes. Ramps surfaced with skatelite material.

Riverside Skate Park
Riverside Park, Riverside Dr. at 108th St.;
212-408-0265 (office of Riverside Park administrator)
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/riverside.html

The first of the new public skateparks to open in the mid 1990s and later. It opened about Labor Day 1996 and for awhile was one of only two such parks in the city, along with Mullaly in the Bronx.

In terms of the "three-tier" description of Riverside Park in the Manhattan section of this guide, the skate park area is on the lowest tier. It is immediately adjacent to the Henry Hudson Pkwy., but between the highway and the rest of the park rather than alongside the river. Just enter the park at the stairs on Riverside Dr. at 108th St. and keep heading downward and toward the river. The skate park is a freshly asphalted area in the midst of a strip which includes a bunch of basketball courts, some volleyball courts and a baseball diamond.

Admission was free at last report. Full armor (helmet, kneepads, elbowpads and wristguards) and signed waiver are required.

The park is open from mid April to late October, and perhaps into November if weather permits. Hours vary. During June through August, hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. In other months, Monday, Thursday, and Friday hours are 3:30 - 7 p.m. and weekends Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Always closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. When closed, large pipes are chained down across the half-pipe and ramps, so it's not worth trying to jump the fence after hours.

Brooklyn

KCDC Skateshop
99 North 10th St., Williamsburg
kcdcskateshop.com

Skateboard shop which has an 8-ft halfpipe indoors at the shop.

Millennium Skatepark at Owl's Head
Shore Pkwy. at 68th St
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/millennium.html

A mostly concrete outdoor skatepark which opened in summer 2001. This is a public park, and the last we heard, admission was free. The schedule seems to differentiate between skateboard and BMX times, so we're guessing that inliners get in when the boarders do.

According to an article in The New York Times, this park was projected to cost $650 thousand! But reports are that it's well-designed and well-built. One section is a street course, and the other a combination of bowls.

The Bronx

Mullaly Park
164th St. and River Ave.;
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/mullaly.html

This city park three blocks north of Yankee Stadium was until the mid 1990s the only place in the city that could be called a skate park. On chilly autumn mornings, you could find kids sneaking in and wiping the dew off the decrepit mini-ramp so that they could get a few runs in before the gates were opened and a line formed.

The park has since then been renovated twice, first in early 1998 in preparation for a BMX bike competition. Credit Mountain Dew and Specialized for fronting the cash for that rebuild. But things were let slide again, and by 2003 the various skatetoys were again in bad shape and the city basically kept the place closed and skaters would have to sneak in. In September 2003, Snapple and others paid for a new renovation, and as of summer 2004 the park was open and in great shape.

Neither renovation has catered to inline skaters, so aggressive bladers will have their gripes about the orientation of the park features. Nevertheless, the park is in good condition and running smoothly (knock wood that it stays that way), and if you're in northern Manhattan or the Bronx, it's close by and cheap.

Mullaly's future could be in doubt. The new Yankee Stadium under construction is consuming much of what was Macombs Dam Park. However, the north side of the new stadium area is 164th St., which means that the Mullaly skatepark is directly across the street from the stadium. But if the skatepark condition is let slide again, will the city decide they no longer want a scruffy skatepark next to Yankee Stadium?

Queens

Forest Park Skate Park
Forest Park, Woodhaven Blvd. at Myrtle Ave.
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/forest_park.html

Public skatepark which opened summer 2003. Located at the Greenhouse basketball courts. Photo ID and waiver required.

Rockaway Skate Park
Shore Front Parkway at Beach 91st St., Rockaway;
(718) 318-4000
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/rockaway.html

An outdoor public skatepark which opened in September 2004. Local skaters and boarders were able to contribute suggestions during the design process, so hopefully it has turned out to be pretty skateable. There are ten ramps and several rails. Armor and waiver required.

Open mid April to mid October. Hours are 1:45 to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1) a.m. to 5 p.m. om weekends.

Thanks to City Council Member Joseph Addabbo, Jr., for arranging for city funds to be allocated for construction of the two parks in Queens.

Staten Island

Ben Soto Skate Park
Midland Beach playground, Midland Ave. west of Mason Ave. (about 12 blocks off Father Capodano Blvd.)
(718) 816-6172
nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skate_parks/benjamin_soto.html

New public skate park which opened in April 2005. Includes quarter pipe, jump box and various rails. Open to BMX cylists, boarders and inliners.

Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday from April through September.

Long Island

Skateparks on Long Island seem to come and go almost with the seasons. Well, most don't seem to last more than a couple years anyway. So if you run into some out-of-date info here, please let us know.

Huntington SkatePark
Greenlawn Park, Broadway and Cuba Hill Road, Huntington
(631) 351-3089 (office of Parks Dept director)
town.huntington.ny.us/department_details.cfm?ID=57

Publicly owned park which opened May 2004.

Inline 1 Sports Center
Hallock Ave Route 25A, Mount Sinai;
631-474-2900
www.inline1.com

Outdoor park. Over 14K square feet. Open seven days a week weather permitting, and open after dark.

Oil City Skate Park
3565 Maple Court, Oceanside;
516-594-1888
www.oilcitysk8.com

New indoor facility.

Upstate New York

Drop In Skate Park
#143 Route 59 East, Hillburn Industrial Park, Hillburn, NY; (845) 357-2828
www.dropinskate.com

Formerly located in New Jersey but now moved just barely across the border into Rockland County, close to I-87.

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The New York City Inline Skating Guide Where to Skate: Skateparks