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Skateboarders discover Bogardus Plaza
In the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Department, just as Bogardus opens, skateboarders discovered it, keeping neighbors up at night and changing the scene at the plaza, which is almost always in use when I walk through. “More and more skateboarders have been turning up at any time of the day. I am kind of afraid of what summer is going to look like, especially at night when skateboard parks are closed,” said S,, who sent in the pics below.
The Friends of Bogardus added some fencing as a temporary measure, but skaters even found a way around that. So now they’ve added signs, and are in the process of ordering planters to go along the perimeter of the platform as well as skatestops to add to the lower step. They also have to come up with some sort of solution for the railing.
Too bad there isn’t a skatepark a quarter mile away…
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What a shame. It’s a really nice park. I walked by yesterday evening, a worker was putting away the chairs and tables and locking them up for the night.
Maybe quit being a Karen and let kids skate
The skateboarders were really intense a couple weeks ago when I was walking through a few times and wanted to sit. Well, I couldn’t walk through and sit… On last Thursday around 5pm it was nice with tables chairs. I sat there along with a bunch of other people there enjoying the outdoor space. I hope the skateboarders can just use the other skateboard park and let us enjoy the finally opened outdoor space. Glad they’re working on it.
* Last Friday.
I get it, but if there was ever a time to lay off kids, it would be now. Middle school and high school are still remote. Mental health concerns are off the charts. See this piece on school closures + teen suicide. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/us/politics/student-suicides-nevada-coronavirus.html
Only a minority of the skateboarders are kids. Most, and the ones that come in the largest groups, are adults. That activity looks more organized and is usually accompanied by someone with a video camera on a gimbal filming the exploits.
Unfortunately the eggs, which clearly delight our youngest neighbors, are also a draw for the skateboarders.
They have been doing the same on the park/plaza next to the Four Seasons downtown… only to stop when an employee for the Hotel and/or a NYPD office shows up and asks them to leave.
Simply unacceptable. Whats the point of having skatepark if they still come to these places to disrupt, destroy and annoy neighbors.
That’s just the way it is
Zoinks! I could have got away if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.
This public park should be able to be used by and members of the community no matter what they are doing. You sitting on a bench isnt gonna get you to the Olympics. These people skateboard might be able to and might be able to make something of themselves. The people complaining will not
Hahahahahahahaha! Good for them. Shut up. You seriously don’t have anything else to be unhappy about?
Skateparks are over run by little kids on scooters. Makes parks impossible to skate. Parents drop their kids off by the suv full to act as a day care. They’re are laws against scooters in parks but guess what law the cops don’t inforce. I would love to have our towns park back but unfortunately the same people that complain about skaters are spitting kids around . Spreading like a virus with handle bars. So yeah it does suck to have your public space taken over. Want to help? Keep your kids out of the skatepark unless they have a board.
Really couldn’t have designed it more appealing to skateboarders. This is not a new thing. Skateboarding has been a popular activity for 30+ years now. Whoever designed this space really should have done a better job of dissuading skateboarding if that was his intention. Most places install skate stoppers on public space like this. How can you fault people for taking advantage of a public space to engage in physical activity? I have read a few comments complaining why they cant use the skatepark, skatepark s are rarely designed by people that have even a basic understanding of skateboarding. So all around this seems a failure of city planning.
All these adults complaining about adults on pieces of wood sound like non-adults
I applaud these young men and women for their creativity and enthusiasm as they build upon and expand the ancient tradition of the Piazza. I love nothing more than sitting with a long espresso and cheering them on as they ply their site-specific trade. I have learned a great deal about architecture, public spaces, and urban planning by conversing with this group- oft misunderstood by the Real Estate Crowd.
God Bless
Looks like fun spot. Skate or die! Screw the yuppies!
Too noisy ? You live in a city. When was quiet a part of the package. Can’t sit ? Not like there isn’t endless places to do so. There’s a skatepark nearby ? So is your house. Go there if its all too much for you. Ever been to Europe ? Skateboarding is literally everywhere and isn’t a problem and they have much less space. Why did you move to nyc if you want to complain about all the things it’s known for.
Looks like a nice place to skate. Street skateboarding is a beautiful thing and I guarantee you the kids enjoy the architecture more than you ever could. Stop getting bent out of shape about people having a good time.
Is this in a retirement community ? Or is what you are saying is that your needs for the park are far superior to the needs of anyone else’s ? Under 65 years old and they must be criminals. Why don’t you let people who can run and play , run and play. Isn’t there a Bingo hall you guys should be hanging at ?
* Skateboarding is not a crime *
This is hilarious and sad. Hilarious because non-skaters in this thread somehow believe that their use of a public park is a higher priority; the self-entitlement is baffling. Sad because these same people will likely never know the pure joy and fulfillment that skateboarding brings to those who are athletically capable of experiencing it.
To be clear, it is illegal to skateboard, bike, rollerblade or scooter in a public plaza in NYC. Not only is this a dangerous activity but the brand new plaza is being destroyed. The granite step is getting chipped, the paint on the hand rails is getting scraped off and parts of the low rails are getting bent. This plaza was not designed as a skatepark and shouldn’t be used as one.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So the park should be open and waiting for some people to use, while other people aren’t allowed to use the same public space? What it sounds like is rich kids not wanting poor kids dirtying their stuff, even though “their stuff” is actually public. Why live in New York City if you can’t handle the people that live in it? The rich are so tone-deaf and entitled it’s disgusting.
don’t worry, the skateboarders will soon be evicted by homeless people camping out there. welcome to new york!
What a bunch of whiny babies. Just let people skate. They’re having more fun with this than any of you are. Let people enjoy shit and go sit on a different chunk of concrete
Oh my goodness, those kids have wheelie boards! This young generation is crazy, they should all be thrown in reform schools,,,
How many of the posts above excusing this behavior are from the same person? Skateboarding in that plaza is illegal, damages the property, disrupts its intended use for residents, and is completely unnecessary when there is an actual skate park 1200 feet away.
If the people defending this behavior don’t respect the laws of the city enough to see it as an issue, that’s their problem. There is really no defending this. Use the intended skate park by the river.
As long as the majority of skaters are somewhat mindful of others and not creating havoc, I see nothing wrong. They could be doing a lot worse especially in these times. Just doing what they love at the park just like the person walking there dog, or the bum drinking on the ledge.
If indeed skateboarding is not permitted in this plaza, then that should settle this debate, no?
Also, I wonder if this site could change its protocol and require that people who post always use the same name. The way it is now, what looks like comments from ten people might, as James suggests, really be from one single person. Just a thought.
Using the same name might be a good policy.
The other question is whether the comments should be moderated at all to avoid degenerating into trading insults.
If skaters damage the plaza, and if they pose a hazard to others, then it’s right that the skating should be illegal in the park.
i commented before on this park and how it was renovated 3 times since i have lived here which is totally nuts so I blame the parks department or whomever built it as to why not make it almost impossible for them to do their tricks and jumps, etc..this is not something new so you guys can all make comments and opinions which we are all entitled to but i agree and disagree…I find it ok for these skateboarders to go around town and have fun and do what they enjoy…Hey its a professional sport and many of them make millions from it and the endorsements so who knows what there intentions are..they are kids-teenagers and if they are not in your way, etc then who cares…go somewhere else if not in your way…its NYC…move out if you want peace and quiet but I do have a problem that i would say when walking around the hood that probably 75% of these kids dont live anywhere near here and are the same punk ass thugs bouncing their bikes, etc off cars and tagging buldings and storefronts….I will bet my wallet on that….Scumbag uneducated punks…Not all of them. 25% are locals that grew up here in tribeca i am sure….Why in the world don’t they skate 2 minutes away to the skatepark that the city built for them years ago right their on the west side highway….I walk by it all the time and barely anyone there…Solution—Print big permanent sign and POST “Bogardus Plaza is close to all Skateboarders, Rollerbladers, etc until further notice-Fines are $1500….
Please use the beautiful skate park on the corner of the west side highway and Harrison that was built specifically for you”
i think there is a goo solution in my opinion anyway.
Pier 26 and Bogardus Plaza were unfortunately built without thinking about making these areas skateboard and bike proof. Why are city designers ignoring the inevitability of these activities coming to these locations? Kinda like having a toddler and not making your home child-proof…
Skateboarding is not a crime. You just can’t do it.
Partial responsibility goes to the city for not preparing for this in advance by equipping the rails or steps (or anything the skaters would grind) with skater-proof welded bolts every 3 feet or so. Simply done. Any retired (aka: old) skater sees this coming with any new plaza or park (ie, wow, that’ll be fun to hit. But I’d break my ankle.). Scouting a street spot outside of skate parks is a thing, a part of the sport itself — but the challenge of this hunt is also part of the sport. If the city’s dumb, the city loses. If the skater can’t skate because the city was smart enough to weld bolts, the skaters smiles and move on.
I love the skateboarders they’re soooo cool and hot.
Love it when they go in the air and the board and skater smash into the concrete chipping and cracking it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
I used to work at 120 Wall Street and after Hurricane Sandy, they renovated the seating areas on that block. They put in beautiful “marble” and not long after, the kids (not adults) started using them as a skateboarding park. People would come out of the buildings and have to watch where they were walking to avoid getting hit by some idiot doing a stupid trick, WITHOUT a helmet! Personally speaking, there were 3 instances where I almost got hit by one of those idiots. I got in touch with the Downtown Alliance who sent security to watch the area. That didn’t last long and neither did the feeling of safety. I would leave sometimes after 8 and they were still there. Their parents shouldn’t wait for the Parent of the Year Award.