Riverside Skate Park
New York, NY

How and why did this start?
In the early 1990's, Charles McKinney, administrator of Riverside Park, was looking for a way to address the recreational needs of adolescents, a group he says is underserved and systematically designed out of public spaces. "The failure to provide recreation is one cause of adolescent frustrations and feelings of being an outsider," states McKinney. As Riverside was in the midst of a restoration, underused facilities were being identified as sites specifically for a teen project. At about this time, Andy Kessler, a native New Yorker and an avid skateboarder, contacted the New York Department of Parks and Recreation with a proposal to build a park for skateboarders and in-line skaters. McKinney liked the idea and asked the Salvadori Educational Center on the Built Environment (SECBE) , a non-profit educational center dedicated to helping inner-city youth understand science and math through hands-on creations, to identify neighborhood teenagers who would be interested in this project.

Who is involved? (who are the teens)
Twenty-four "at-risk" local high school students were selected to design and build a skate area in Riverside Park. The teens did not know each other -- the goal of the project was to foster teamwork and demonstrate practical applications of math and science. SECBE taught the students the basics of construction and took them on a weekend retreat as part of a training program in teamwork and conflict resolution. "After the retreat," said Andy Kessler, "the kids all worked together." He added, "Many had waited a long time for something like this, including me."

How does this program work? (what does it do, who manages it, etc.)
Users of the skate park pay $3 per visit which pays for Kessler's salary and maintenance. They can also sign up to be monitors, in which case they receive a free annual membership. This year Kessler hopes to attract corporate sponsors to defray costs of additional equipment and lessons.

On a typical weekday afternoon an average of 50 skateboarders, bikers and in-line skaters use the skate park. Weekends are much busier, when over 100 enthusiasts of all levels, ranging in age from 9-30, come to the skate park from all over the metropolitan area. Skaters say they try to come about three times a week, and stay between one and five hours.

Kessler works at the park every day, ensuring that safety guidelines are followed. When skaters come to the park for the first time, they must sign a form waiving the participant's right to maintain a lawsuit against the Department of Parks. Participants under the age of 18 must have their form signed by parent or guardian. Once they have submitted a signed copy, participants need only to sign in at subsequent visits. Helmets, knee pads and elbow pads are required.

But it's not just the skaters who make the park a destination. Parents come to watch, senior citizens come to sit on the bench and enjoy, stating "it's something different -- it's not like watching the same old game of catch."

How has the program changed the community - and the participating teens?

Those involved in the project indicated that the process of imagining, designing and building the skate park was just as important as the final product. The skate park has tapped into the ideas and skills of teenagers, developing ways to channel their energy constructively instead of treating them as problems or victims.

Challenges
“It takes patience to make a project succeed. Without patience this project wouldn’t have succeeded. Within this project, much patience was needed because our construction materials were not on time, and we were put to filling in tree pits while we waited for the materials to arrive.” Hamley Cabrera

Sometimes we have people come, especially parents, who worry about safety and ask questions about liability when they have to fill out a waiver. They say “What happens if my child does get hurt?” We refer them to Andy Kessler, the Skate Park director who’s always on site, and he tells them that we always have a phone to call for emergency help and that if there is a minor injury we give first aid, and if it’s worse we call an ambulance and get help. At Riverside there are always monitors like myself on site who watch the skaters, see what they’re good at and what they’re not. I give them advice on how to learn and what to do so they won’t fall (or how to fall, in case they do). For instance I won’t tell someone to drop in from the ramp without making sure they’re able to handle the bottom. Everyone has to wear safety equipment, which we really enforce. We have pros who don’t usually skate with equipment but we tell them they can’t skate here if they don’t wear it. In the 3 summers we’ve been open, we’ve only had two broken bones and one sprain. Plus we know that our environment was designed so that you can’t get hurt. We make sure the asphalt is clean (no glass etc).

Contact information

Riverside park Fund, (212) 408-0264
Riverside Park Administrator, (212) 870-3070
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation