Skate Jam '02

Words and Pictures by Julio

On 7.14 the skate jam that NYC skaters have tried to organize for months finally came together thanks to the guys at Metrospective.com. After weeks of debating where to hold the event that would draw over 200 skaters the decision was made to meet up at Battery Park. When I arrived I saw only a few people riding around not really knowing where the exact meeting place was so we skated around and finally saw the spot. There were about 150 skaters there so far and a few people were busting tricks on the ledge and down the stairs. The best part about this is that people actually showed up. NYC skaters have been very cliquish lately and the old school vibe of every skater being down with each other had started to fade away. Maybe it has to do with the fact that skateboarding has gotten so big. According to certain statistics more kids are skating than playing baseball or any other organized sport and I believe it seeing all these little kids running around talking about Tony Hawk. Not that skateboarding should be labeled a sport since it's more of a lifestyle and organized competitions aren't really considered valid by most skaters. Competitions held by ESPN (a Disney owned Co.) called the X-games have been one of the causes for the huge influx of new skaters but the "Old School" recognizes that skateboarding was about going out on the streets with your friends and having a good time and not competing against each other but challenging each other to improve your skills and become better skaters. At least that's what it was for me and all my friends. I'm the only one still skating out of my original crew and it was really amazing seeing over 200 skaters the day of the NYC skate jam. This was the largest gathering of skaters in the NYC area since the early 90's and back then there were only about 60 skaters. It's definitely hard trying to assemble that many people in one place but with the help of the Metrospective.com Forum we were able to reach out to hundred of skaters. It started around 3:00 pm and it was a hot summer day. After getting some good pictures down at Battery park and having the Park rangers show up we broke out and headed to the Veterans Memorial (south of the South Street Seaport) and this is where the photgraphs of the skaters busting tricks down the 12 stairs where taken. This went on for about 20 minutes until the NYPD showed up and scared everyone away. They have been known to ticket skaters and take away their boards. Alright, so after that spot we head over to Newport which is located under the FDR next to the South Street Seaport. We set up a few benches on top of each other and made a makeshift ramp that you had to ollie up to about a foot then ride up one of the benches at an angle that launched you off about 5 feet in the air. The guys from 5Boro were representing and busting some incredible stuff. Steve Rodriguez (the owner of 5Boro) busted a 360 off the top of the bench and Aaron Suski (Pro for 5Boro) busted some really nice stuff as well. We spent about an hour there and the cops never came. We amazed a lot of tourists who kept asking me what was going on and why are there all these skaters hanging out. The next spot was the legendary Brooklyn Banks located under the Brooklyn bridge. Once again 5Boro was representing with Steve Rodriguez doing wall rides on the big banks and Steve Nardelli (pro for 5Boro) doing a nose pick (balancing on the tail of the board) on top of a rail about 12 feet off the ground and then jumping down into the big bank and riding away. You really had to be there so appreciate the sweetness of the tricks. Unfortunately I fucked up an entire roll of film and lost all the pictures of Newport and the Brooklyn Banks. I'm still pissed about that. I have no idea what happened. But the pictures posted here are from the begining of the day at Battery Park and Veterans Memorial. You can also see video of the day at Metrospective.com under the title Skaters Unite. The final stop after hitting up a few other spots in between was Tompkins Square park at the ABC Skate Shop sponsored training facility which consists of numerous obstacles bought by ABC for the local skaters. Anyone that wants to use them and carry them over to the park are always welcome to take them. ABC is one of the few shops in the city that really support the locals. The other shop is Autumn which has built a few obstacles in the L.E.S. I really enjoyed my day and got to stop traffic along with 200 skaters and left a lot of people completely dumbfounded by the amount of skaters out that day. This was the first NYC Skate Jam and I believe we have started a new tradition. Next year the Jam will probably be twice as big including more skaters from different states.