East Harlem's First Skate Park Opens In Thomas Jefferson Park

EAST HARLEM, NY — What once was an empty asphalt section of East Harlem's Thomas Jefferson Park is now buzzing with activity. Skateboarders, BMX bikers and inline rollerbladers braved cold temperatures to christen the neighborhood's first skate park with plenty of kickflips, ollies and grinds Wednesday afternoon.

The skate park, located in the park near East 114th Street along the Harlem River Drive, was a process ten years in the making, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Wednesday. Mark-Viverito said that when she was first elected to the City Council she held a community forum with the East Harlem's young people to see what they wanted in East Harlem and a skate park was one of the most popular demands.

"Previously, the only local options skaters had in the area were empty basketball courts and parking lots," Mark-Viverito said Wednesday as skaters got a feel for the new park's design behind her.

Former professional skater Ray Mendez told Patch that New York City is "by far" one of the best skating cities in the country, but some neighborhoods that produce a lot of skaters don't have a local hub for the community. The new skate park in Thomas Jefferson Park will provide East Harlem skaters with a place to meet up and hone their skills without having to travel a far distance.

"This park is really a great asset for this community," Mendez told Patch. "Lots of skaters come from Harlem and East Harlem but for a long time there was no skate park."

Mendez, a Bronx native who co-founded a company called Go Sports that runs skating and other sports programs at schools, said that skateboarding allowed him to have a career where he was able to travel the world.

Most of the funding for the new skate park was allocated by City Council Speaker Mark-Viverito, who pledged $650,000 to the park, according to a Parks Department press release. Mayor Bill de Blasio also allocated $80,000 from City Hall.

The Parks Department determined that the northeast corner of Thomas Jefferson Park was the best location in the neighborhood for a skate park due to the under-utilized space and because the nearby Harlem River Drive will cancel out some of the noise from the park. The new skate park has elements that can be used by skaters of all experience levels, according to a Parks Department press release.

In addition to the new skate park, neighboring basketball courts have been rehabilitated with a new coat of paint. A four-foot fence separates the skate park and basketball courts for added safety, according to a Parks Department press release.

Photos by Patch