The 2013 New York Skateboarding Year in Review: 10-6

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Let’s get this thing done with.

Previously: #s 25-21, #s 20-16, #s 15-11, The Year in T.F. Obstacles

10. Skating Over Black Hubba Becomes a “Thing”

2013 was filled with benchmark moments that emphasized just how fast skateboarding is progressing: Ishod’s versatility among three parts, Nigel Hudsons’ superhumanness, Westgate’s aversion to physics, and Mark Suciu’s career-worth-of-footage-in-12-months productivity. In New York, life moves a bit faster, but as a result, skating progresses, much, much slower. Everything is five years behind if you want to be generous, ten if you want to be a dick about it.

Our moment came on a smaller level. Filming on Black Hubba has seemed kinda silly ever since Riley Hawk saw it fit to do, like, a bluntslide varial flip down it. Good skateboarders had officially run out of tricks to do there — except now people are good enough to skate over it. Olson kickflipped over it three years ago, but things ramped up this year with a front three, a nollie back 180, a backside flip, and two switch flips.

9. Bobby Puleo Smashes the Most Cellar Doors in a Part Record

Puleo shocked skrelly banditos in 2013 by releasing his most cellar door dependent video part yet. Some of the surprise was due to nobody being aware he was even filming a part (a miracle in the internet age!), but more of it came from those who were just getting caught up with finding the spots from the *last* Puleo part.

Just like Banksy gave people who don’t go to East New York a reason to go to East New York this year (only to find the coveted art masked by a box), lord knows what neighborhoods this part sent overeager spot sharks gunning out to.

8. Shawn Powers: Message Board Enemy #1

This was without a doubt, the most rumor-heavy year of the skateboard-internet era. Yet somehow, the internet outrage machine afforded Shawn Powers and his Palace intro part nearly as much airtime as the biggest sponsor resignations.

6 Slap pages @ 30 posts a page = 180 posts + 762 Sidewalk Forum posts = 942 opinions on Shawn Powers, life, love, art, New York’s aforementioned sluggish progression, West Indian pop diva romances, infant safety, #authenticity, #branding and #marketing, which brings us to the age-old question: do ppl who post on Slap (or Sidewalk) have friends IRL?

7. Vine / Instagram Video

In 2010, Bill Strobeck named “Poaching at an all-time high in the day of the iPhone” as the second worst thing about filming. Has every filmer’s life since imploded with the advent of easy share video technology? 2013 featured more-progressive-than-usual thinking from the record industry (and Bobby Puleo) by which they released Kanye, Jay-Z and Beyonce albums with little lead-up to minimize leaks, so does this mean skate companies will be forced to finally stop taking five goddamn years to make a video?

6. The Real Demise of 12th & A

Let’s keep this one positive…it is amazing it lasted that long. Installed in spring 2009 on top of the jankiest wooden frames ever, no one ever thought the ledges would hold up for four years. Beyond their structure, there was a neighborhood association meeting to shut the park down every few months, which the skaters were motivated enough to leave the comforts of their dollar slice and repeatedly show up for in big numbers. Thanks to Billy and everyone else for a fun four years.

And everyone knows 12th & A will never truly die, unless of course they build a Duane Reade on top of it.

Bonus Mini Five — Predictions For 2014:
5. Habitat goes on an American tour, and skaters throughout the country begin forcibly declining Mark Suciu entry at their respective city limits as to maintain a reason for living.
4. Three teams make the eastern conference playoffs with losing records, the Knicks being one of them.
3. Blue chinos become the new brown chinos. Blue is the warmest chino ;)
2. Via the latest Gino clip: Long frontside boardslides on ledges have a surge in popularity.
1. Someone skates to Miley Cyrus for a semi-viral web part while skaters still stubbornly refuse to come to terms with Drake.