Watch out bikers and rollerbladers: there are new kids on the block, and they are coming fast and are here to stay. What started as a widely recognized sport below 14th Street has now become an adrenaline rush in Washington Heights.
by Zully Ramirez
Watch out bikers and rollerbladers: there are new kids on the block, and they are coming fast and are here to stay. What started as a widely recognized sport below 14th Street has now become an adrenaline rush in Washington Heights.
Skateboarding has taken grip in uptown Manhattan, and is becoming a quick developing trend and culture.
“I saw all those good things that were happening downtown like with Steve Rodriguez, Billy Rohan, and Open Road, and I was like – why doesn’t any of that stuff pass 14th Street?,” said 35-year-old skateboarder, Eugene Kang.
Kang, who has been skateboarding for about 14 years, said there has been a skateboarding culture for quite a while uptown, but not as big as the downtown scene.
“There’s no real skateboarding history up here because uptown never got any kind of love or any kind of recognition,” said Kang. “There’s always been people skating up here, even before I was a little kid.”
But his passion for skateboarding and his desire to bring people together to share their similar interests, led him to throw a contest two years ago for the local kids at the J. Hood Wright Park located at W. 175th Street and Ft. Washington Avenue.
“Some guys from downtown that run stuff over there heard that I was starting a skateboarding contest up here, and they were like ‘look we have obstacles we’ll give them to you’… and from there everything just worked out,” said Kang
Kang, who tries to mount the contest once a year, said he might not be able to do it this year due to city insurance policies. So far, he’s been able to throw these contests thanks to the support from various skateboarding companies such as 5boronyc, Volcom, Zooyork and others that donate prizes such as skateboards, t-shirts, and more.
“All the favors I get are through sponsors,” said Kang “It’s a local contest and it’s for the kids, and there’s no financial gain from any part.”
But the meaning of skateboarding goes beyond just a wooden skateboard and good obstacles.
Rainey Cruz, 26, who resides in the Bronx, but also skates in Washington Heights said skateboarding is a form of freedom that lets people explore their surroundings and their own neighborhood.
“I like to say that it’s like a movie that you control and you direct,” said Cruz. “Because if you go down one street, it’s completely different from going down the other, and you interact with traffic and people, you bump into friends as you are skating, people see you and they shout your name … so it’s really a good freedom of exploring.”
A freedom of exploring that has inspired many kids like Isaac Jaquez, 22, who started skateboarding when he was 12 years old, to follow skateboarding to its fullest level; an extreme sport.
“But what’s life with no danger?” asks Jaquez laughing, when asked if skateboarding was a dangerous sport. “What’s life with no excitement? Danger is one of the best things about skateboarding and it’s a big challenge.”
Just like Kang, Jaquez also agrees that there has been a lack of skateboarding culture uptown due to very little support, but he is optimistic that that will eventually change.
“Skateboarding in Washington Heights hasn’t been that big, so there’s no history behind it, said Jaquez. “But right now we are making the history for it.”
This history in the making is a regular sight at various locations throughout Washington Heights, including J. Hood Wright Park, which is considered to be the top spot for many, “The Plaza,” located on W. 168th Street and Broadway, and the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal under the George Washington Bridge – which garners a lot of skateboarder’s attention.
“The bridge is a really good location to skate because there’s an overhead above that protects us from the elements of rain, and snow,” said Cruz. “The ground is really flat, and there are curbs on both sides and skaters really like that.”
Even though skateboarding outside the terminal at times can cause trouble, especially with the police, some believe that this is due to the negative stereotypes and connotations that people have associated with skaters.
“People think we are all bad news, cause trouble, break stuff, but you can’t judge a whole group based on the actions of a few,” said Kang. “A lot of cops watch movies like “Jackass,” and they think that skateboarding is about that, but I just come to skateboard and have a good time.”
With or without stereotypes, the truth is that the uptown skateboarding scene has begun to grow, and continues to break boundaries by bringing people together.
“Basically, the thing that I love the most about skateboarding is that there’s no racial boundaries,” said Kang. “You skate, I skate, it doesn’t matter, white, or black … in skateboarding racial boundaries just don’t exist.”
