Post 9/11 Skateboarding

September 11th 2001 was an important day in alot of peoples lives for many different reasons. For me it was sad that alot of people had lost family members, but the most direct impact it had on my life at thirteen years old, was the displacement of the skate community that I was involved in and around the World Trade Center. I remember the day it happened when I was in biology class and our teacher Mr. Scott, a bald gay man, with a southern drawl, was called out of the classroom. He came back in and said "Now I have some very sad news ya'll, there has been an accident at the World Trade Center, a plane ran into one of the towers." It sounded pretty unreal at the time. My friend PJ whose family lives two blocks away from the World Trade Center began to cry. It was pretty weird for me to think that his family might not be alive. I had been to their house many times.

In 2001 I had just started skating and was obsessed with it. I skated no matter what, if it was raining I had a board to ride in the rain. If it was night time and I couldn't leave my neighborhood I would skate in front of our apartment building for hours. The only problem with that is that there wasn't much good stuff to skate in the neighborhood at the time. When PJ first took me to Battery Park City is when my mind first opened up to a different kind of skating. In my neighborhood I was used to only skating flatground. In Battery Park City there were stairs, rails, ledges, I thought I was in heaven. I started going there without PJ and began to meet other skaters.

I met a kid one day while skating in Battery Park City and he told me he was leaving Battery Park City cause it sucked, and that he was going to the Brooklyn Banks. I wish I could remember this kid's name or face, but I don't. When I got to the Banks I was amazed. A skatespot that looks like it were made for skating. Banks that flowed like waves, a nine stair with a skater made handrail, some dope ledges. There were so many skaters doing so many tricks I didn't even know the name of. I started going there every weekend. I began to meet more and more skaters and it was with them that I started getting shown other spots in the neighborhood. One of them was the World Trade Center.

The World Trade Center was an awesome skatespot. You could skate the benches in the street and never get kicked out. If you went in the actual plaza you would get kicked out pretty fast. The security guards never tried to take your board, but they were adamant about us not skating there. There was so much stuff there that I just can't seem to find photos of. There was a perfect manual pad that went from low to high, a ledge over a 5 stair(the one Luis smacked his face on trying to 5050 grind), and these perfect marble benches right in front of the towers.

After the tragic events that took place on 9/11, downtown became a no mans land for a long time. I remember not going down there for a month out of fear, even though my mom worked 5 blocks from the World Trade Center. When I finally went back that far downtown it was so different. The cops had taped off the Brooklyn Banks making them temporarily unskateable. I remember going to the other spots and not seeing other skaters for a couple months. The air down there was horrible and it felt dismal. It was like all the energy in that part of city went down with those two towers.

6 months later, it was spring and people returned to skating downtown, but it didn't feel the same anymore. Cops were checking your bags constantly getting off the train, security was heightened at every building so you were getting kicked out all the time, it had changed so much. Eventually I met a skater named Ben Nazario who took me to Thompkins Square park where I would start skating everyday, and still do skate at constantly.

Twelfth and A/King of Spring

The King Of Spring contest, held annually uptown on 12th St and Ave A is my favorite skateboard competition for a few reasons. For one, it is organized every year by Billy Rohan one of the city's foremost skateboard enthusiasts/activists(Who was once awarded the title of NY1's New Yorker of the Week). I've known Billy since I was thirteen and have always thought of him as one of the city's best skateboarders and eccentric individuals. Ever since I've know Billy he's been skating his heart out and trying to use his connections to get parks built for skateboarders in New York City.

Before Billy moved here from Florida we had 2 skateparks, Riverside Skatepark and Owl's Head Skatepark. Both of these skateparks, are in my opinion, horrible and completely outdated. Riverside Skatepark has been here since the 1980's and is rusty, with nails sticking out in various ramps and obstacles. Owl's Head only has large obstacles built for someone who has been skating for at least a couple years, and has no obstacles built for a beginner skater looking to learn. Ever since Billy moved here in 2000, we have had 6 new skateparks added to our city. Among my favorites are the Tribeca park, Astoria Park, and the Open Roads park on 12th st. and Ave A.

 I like the idea of this contest so much is because they don't allow professional or amateur skateboarders to compete in it. It is all kids who don't get paid to skate for a living, most are willing to put themselves in harm's way just to win enough money for a Metrocard to get back home. In competitions like the Maloof Money Cup or Street League the prize can be as much as a million dollars. Sure this is nice for professional skaters looking to buy new homes and expensive cars, but what about the kids who do this just for fun? I think they deserve a chance to make a little money and get some exposure to the competitive side of skateboarding.

I'm most fond of this competition because it is held where I grew up, Alphabet City. Growing up skateboarding in Alphabet City, I was always often called "Tony Hawk" and "White boy." Now that it has become more acceptable to see skaters of all nationalities, this doesn't happen to often anymore. To see skaters of all different races of colors get together and skate on 12th st and Ave A , the block I grew up on, makes me proud. I highly suggest you all attend this years King of Spring Contest, once the date is announced on the Open Roads Nyc Website, and say whatsup to Billy Rohan, a true skateboard advocate.