Skateboarders Fear They Will be Sidelined as Iconic Tompkins Sq. Park Space Gets Makeover
With a new running track installed around the perimeter and a new green paint paint job covering what used to be a bare-bones asphalt playground in the north end of Tompkins Square Park, the skateboard enthusiasts who had turned that section of the park into a skateboard mecca are worried.
| 04 Sep 2024 | 06:34
Parks Dept workers painting the lines around a new track that has appeared for the first time inside what was long known as the skateboard park that also housed a baseball diamond and basketball courts in the northern end of Tompkins Sq. Park. (
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Skateboard enthusiast Wayne “G Man” Allen (left) talks with Chris, a skateboarder who was visiting from England and had heard about the skateboard mecca in the East Village. Alas, it was closed for renovation when he stopped by Tompkins Square Park on Sept. 2 with his skateboard. (
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Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said NYC “wants to be the skateboard capital of the East Coast,” although she did not have specific plans on how that will be worked into the Tompkins Square Park playground now nearing the end of a year-long renovation. Prior to the renovation, it was always known as one of the city’s iconic skateboard meccas. (
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A Parks Department worker inside the shut-down playground in the E. 10th St. end of Tompkins Square Park as it underwent final touching up before the playground that was once a haven for skateboarders reopens as a multi-purpose, newly painted asphalt play area with a new running track. (
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There are three basketball backboards at the eastern end of the playground in the northern part of Tompkins Sq. Park near East. 10th St. (
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At one point, the NYC Parks Dept said they wanted to turn the run down asphalt playground in the northern end of Tompkins Square Park into a field covered with artificial turf.
Skateboard fans rebelled and deluged the Parks Dept with a 33,000 name petition to save the mecca on the E. 10th St. end of the park between Ave. “A” and Ave. “B,” which over the years had attracted legends like the legendary Anthony “Tony” Hawk nicknamed “Birdman” for his daring flips and Stefan Janoski, who had his own branded Nike skateboard shoe.
After the public outcry, Parks eventually relented and instead in September went ahead instead with a plan to repair and paint the asphalt, install the first ever running track around its perimeter, replace the three basketball hoops and backstops at the eastern end and adding amenities like a drinking fountain and park benches. Unfortunately for the avid skateboarders, it meant their park was closed for repair. Many migrated to another smaller skateboard park on the Lower East Side off of Pike St.
The year long renovation now appears to be nearing its completion, several months behind schedule. But as some forlorn skateboarders wandered by to view the last few days of the renovations, many worried that the skateboarders might be squeezed out of the new look park.
”I hope it still has the same energy and atmosphere,” said Timothy Garcia as he peered through a gate that was chained shut. “People looked on it as a skate park, but Sunday there was street hockey.” And he said there was a painted baseball diamond that attracted older kids and young adults played baseball on the hard surface while during the school day, youngsters used the painted baseball diamond area for kickball games. “That was one of the beauties of the park, the way the community came together,” he said.
Peering through the gate, he said, “It looks more like a track now...I’m not gonna lie, it looks great,” he said, but added, “I’m curious what else they have in store?”
Wayne “G Man” Allen, said he met Tony Hawk over the years, said he asked NYC Parks workers if it was still going to be a skate park once they were done. “They said, ‘you can do anything you want,” he said. “Last year, they said ‘skate park. Now they are saying multi purpose asphalt playground.”
While he was there, a visitor from England named Chris showed up with skateboard in hand. But the park was still shut. “I’m staying with a mate on the lower East Side,” he said. “I’m only here for two weeks. I hope it opens before I have to go home.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to it,” said one boarder named Sebastian.
His friend Mike, looking at the newly painted track noted, “There’s a whole lot of other places where you can run track and field, but not many where you can skateboard,” he said.
When Mayor Eric Adams was asked about future plans for skateboarders at Tompkins Square Park during a Sept. 2 press conference, he passed the question over to deputy mayor of operations Meera Joshi. Without going into specifics on the renovations underway at Tompkins Square Park–which had an original completion date of June– she said the city wants to be known as the East Coast skateboard capital.
“As we said in the State of the City, we’re looking to become the East Coast Skateboard Capital so we have five parks slated to become skate parks, one in every borough. We’re looking to do them on an accelerated timeline. You’ve identified something that’s really important to us.
“Skateboarding is attractive to a diverse group,” she said. “It’s also something that’s very attractive to many of our youth and it’s a way for them to get out and enjoy our public space because they don’t all want to play pickleball. They want to skateboard and so we want to ensure that we have parks that speak to the people that live in New York City and are out there enjoying it. So I’m happy to follow up exactly on the plans there.”