Skaters from around the city have been flocking to the new skate park in Astoria Park that officially opened last week. The park was inspired by Athens Square Park visitors who were sick and tired of kids flouting the rules about skating and rollerblading. Project initiator George Delis told the Queens Gazette, “I asked kids if they would leave Athens Square Park if we built a skate park here, and they said ‘absolutely.'" And they were so enthusiastic, they didn't even wait until the ribbon cutting! more ›

Yesterday, the Parks Department, city and state officials, and Joe and Gavin Maloof cut the ribbon to open a new skate park at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Today and tomorrow, the skate park, which features skating elements from all over the city, will host the Maloof Money Cup with skaters competing for a $250,000 in cash and prizes. more ›

If it's not cold enough for you outside, why not hit the ice? While the failed Polar Rink is closed after one year in business, all the usual suspects are open for skating season. Here's a roundup (please note that Wollman Rink is now charging a spectator fee! Egregious!): more ›

A tipster passed along an email from Steve Rodriguez, owner of 5boro Skateboards, which outlines information about the Department of Transportation's plans for Brooklyn Banks, the popular Manhattan skate park under the Brooklyn Bridge. The unofficial skating area will be closed due to the DOT's multiyear bridge rehab project. more ›

It a big week for New York's newly open-for-the-season ice skating rinks. Bryant Park's rink, which is seasonally surrounded by holiday shops, now has a giant glass restaurant sitting by its side as well. more ›

A developer will break ground Thursday on what will be the city’s only rooftop ice rink (the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink is on the second floor, not the roof, and it’s been a while since skaters frolicked on the old Madison Square Garden roof rink.) more ›

Coan Nichols (aka "Buddy") and Rick Charnoski have been making movies together on 8mm film since the late 90s; their main focus being skateboarding. At some point they abandoned their New York City stomping grounds for the warmer weather of the West Coast, but the city is still the inspiration for their latest release. Deathbowl to Downtown chronicles the origin of skating in NYC and is "the first to explore skateboarding’s urban history in-depth." (View trailer here.) more ›

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. more ›