PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO THE NYC PARK’S DEPARTMENT:
Please do this now and please have everyone you know do the same. Copy & paste the subject line and body copy and send an opposition email to the following 8 email addresses.
margaret.bracken@parks.nyc.gov
melody.rodriguez@parks.nyc.gov
district7@council.nyc.gov
Helen@HelenRosenthal.com
gbrewer@manhattanbp.nyc.gov
akeefe@council.nyc.gov
mitchell.silver@parks.nyc.gov
aslattery@council.nyc.gov
Subject Line:
Riverside Skatepark redesign does not serve the needs of the community
Email:
Position Statement on initial Riverside Skatepark redesign proposal
Initial reception to the New York City Parks Department’s proposed skatepark design intended to replace the existing Riverside Skatepark facility has been met with a unanimous cry of disappointment and anger.
• The new Riverside Skatepark design proposal fails to fulfill the needs of the community. It’s a weak street plaza-focused design and a complete reversal of the parks original design vision.
• The outcome is contrary to the need of the skating population.
• The proposed design is exclusionary to a substantial percentage of its citizen user base, which are transitional skaters (people that skate larger sized bowls and banks and half pipes). Even more alarming: NYC Parks has built about 20 small street plaza skateparks while ignoring the need for well-balanced skateparks. This trend amounts to policy not just for Riverside, but all its projects in recent memory.
• The new design should adopt the original intention of the Andy Kessler facility, which is a transition-focused skateboard park with diverse elements for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced transitional elements alongside a Street Plaza.
• The proportions of space allocation, for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Street for the new design should roughly match existing Riverside Skatepark facility.
• That NYC Parks Dept. indeed has the best of intentions in it is creating skateparks city-wide. This is a great thing and we love this. We believe that these mistakes are an understandable result of the community needs being understudied.
• The Riverside Skatepark location is the most important and significant location currently being developed on the East Coast. We’d like the City of New York, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture, LLC and whatever vendor it chooses to design and build to frame the design with this in mind.
• Arbitrary and capricious: Historically, NYC Parks Department has adopted an ad-hoc regulation of a three-foot height maximum for it skatepark banks. Nowhere in the NYC Parks Department skatepark guideline is a three-foot height restriction listed. This insistence of the ad-hoc regulation is arbitrary and capricious and has the direct effect of denying recreational use and artistic expression of a substantial percentage of the City’s user base. The City of New York is decades behind the rest of the world in this regards.
• Another myth is a limit to the dig depth due to connecting into the existing drainage system. A dry well storm water disposal system as allowed by NYC building code Section PC 1114 and allows you to dig deeper.
• New York City has the largest demographic of skateboarders in the world. Let’s build them world-class skateparks. Let’s not miss the opportunity to create thoughtful, destination-quality skating elements.
• Early in the design process, the Riverside Skatepark Coalition submitted design suggestions based on a wide survey of users. This design endorsed with a five hundred signature petition. We’d like to consult on the elements for the replacement park.
• We’d like to see some other design ideas for a robust, fully featured, forward-thinking skatepark for Riverside Skatepark that works both for the skaters and residents of the upper west side.
ATTEND THE MEETING:
In response to the community efforts in NYC, another meeting has been scheduled for June 27th to discuss the proposed design of the Riverside Skatepark. If you are in the NYC area, please attend and voice your concerns…
Riverside Skatepark proposed design will be available for public hearing allowing for more community input.
Community Board 7 Meeting, Monday, June 27, 7:00PM
Board Office, 250 West 87th Street
Parks & Environment Committee, Klari Neuwelt, Chairperson
CHECK OUT THE STORY:
Take a look at some of the coverage of this issue and call on your journalist friends to cover this important story! We need your help to shine a light on what is going on at Riverside Skatepark and bring awareness to the need to build a proper skatepark in NYC.
http://www.manhattanexpressnews.nyc/skaters-ramp-complaints-riverside-park-redesign/
SKATEBOARDERS CALL NEW RIVERSIDE SKATEPARK PLAN ‘WEAK’ AND ‘EXCLUSIONARY’
DO IT FOR KESSLER:
RIP Andy Kessler, June 11, 1961 – August 10, 2009.
Andy headed up efforts to create Riverside Skatepark, which opened in August 1996.
The proposed design for Riverside Skatepark has been delayed for further community input after a community uprising took effect. The skateboarders of NYC want proper transition included in the park, which Kessler spent his lifetime keeping alive and well in New York City. Skateparks should be built to include something for everyone. Now it’s up to the skate community to propose a better design. Get involved now. Fight for Kessler’s skatepark. He would have done it for you. Long live vert! Never forget KESS…
ANDY KESSLER from Six Stair on Vimeo.
GET THE UPDATES:
Follow all the updates of Riverside Skatepark Community Group at https://www.facebook.com/sk8108/
The Riverside Skatepark Coalition (SK8108) is a group of volunteers that have repaired and maintained the structures at the park, in addition to running events, since 2012. We’ve worked closely with the Riverside Parks Conservancy. Go to Riverside Skate Park on FaceBook. https://www.facebook.com/sk8108/
The old Riverside Skatepark. Built by Andy Kessler, opened August 1996, creating so many NY transition skaters and good memories. Please voice your concerns for Riverside Skatepark now! Thank you for reading.
