A 25-year-old man was struck and killed by two hit and run drivers early yesterday morning in Brooklyn. Josh Thorne was skateboarding on the pedestrian walkway of Eastern Parkway around 2:30 a.m. when he tried to cross at the Rochester Avenue intersection. Instead he was hit, first by a maroon Mercury minivan going north and then, while he was lying bleeding on the road, by a white Honda or Acura sedan going east. Neither vehicle stopped. more ›

The skateboarding craze hit New York in the 1960s, but some of the best footage of locals taking their boards to the street is from the 1980s, when the man wasn't really paying attention—it wasn't until the spring 1996 that the city council passed Local Law 1996/043, making it illegal to skate "recklessly." Below is a video from 1985, that captures a lot of great 1980s New York City streetscapes—keep an eye out for the Brooklyn Bridge banks. more ›

Forget the soaring skyscrapers hundreds of feet up—what really makes New York tick is the action on the ground level. Skateboarder Josh Maready knows it, and for proof, he strapped a camera under his deck and cruised the streets, editing his travels into a tight four minutes of asphalt-level urban exploration. Turn up your speakers and blast the video, set to Norwegian deathpunk favorites Turbonegro's "Ride With Us." [via Animal] more ›

Looks like there are about 1.5-2 cops per kid! more ›

The season's second Williamsburg Walks took place this weekend (last Saturday was rained out), with Bedford Avenue closed to traffic from North 4th to North 9th Streets. Community groups set up tables, chairs, blankets and pillows for passers-by to linger and chat, and an atmosphere of peaceful conviviality prevailed—until the teenagers came with their accursed skateboards! With its indoor half-pipe, the KCDC skate shop on Wythe has been a magnet for skaters for years now, and on Saturday the place was packed for Go Skateboarding Day, with hundreds of youths rolling over to Bedford to gleam the cube. more ›

For anyone accustomed to watching skate kids fall off their boards in Washington Square Park, the above video will serve as entertainment redeeming of the skater community. Equipped with adequate knee pads, gloves, and skill, a group of young men work their way down "Watchtower Hill" in Brooklyn. Staying upright on the board is less a badge of honor than indicative of a lack of creativity. Great soundtrack too. more ›