May 5, 2008
NYC's Skateboarding History Gets Screentime
Deathbowl to Downtown – The Evolution of Skateboarding in New York City will be seeping into theaters starting this summer (with a national release this fall); the film is the first to explore skateboarding’s urban history in Manhattan. Tracing "skating's epochal shift from the parks and pools of the 70's, to ramp skating in the 80's, to the street ascendancy of the 1990's as seen from a New York-centric perspective," it includes footage and interviews with pioneers from the past and those still grinding today.
Giving a full-scope look at the scene, the film also includes interviews with architects and urban planners, "who explain how a combination of municipal zoning and modern architecture lead to the most popular form of skateboarding today." Back when kids were still riding hand-cut boards, the city was mostly open game -- with no laws against skateboarding yet.
The Sevigny family is also tied to the film, with Chloë serving as narrator, and her brother Paul deejaying the release event this week.
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What laws are against skateboarding ?
I haven't heard of any.
I can't believe it. There is a law.
Yeah, let's feed this.
It's not that skateboarding is illegal exactly, but for instance, if a cop sees you doing a handrail you could be charged for destruction of property. Same goes if you're skating on the sidewalk, you could get a ticket for blocking the flow of pedestrians. It depends. I don't skate, but I've been riding bmx for a long time, and it's a similar set of issues. The golden rule applies, just don't act like a jerk and the cops won't bother you.
The B Banks are all nice and legal and pretty, there's Owl's Head and a bunch of other great parks. Overall there's a lot to ride and things are good. No whining people.
I will admit that my fondest and last memory of the WTC was watching kids ride boards on the rails and planters of the plaza there. All I could think was "damn, I wish I still could be on summer vacation."
I skated WTC 9.10 and the whole time was thinking "damn, I'm staying out too late, I need to be back here for work early tomorrow".
Fortunately, I slept in.