Spots: Downtown Manhattan — Chinatown, East Village & L.E.S.

(This spot isn’t actually in Chinatown)

Spot: You win some and you lose some when skateboarding in New York, because if this spot was perfect, it would probably be an inevitable bust. And if the ground was good, then the manual pad would be borderline worthless. So we are forced to settle.

The pad itself is more-or-less perfect. It is maybe around fifteen feet in length, fully marble, wide and a foot high. The runway is long, but as you guessed, rather choppy because it is composed out of irregular, slate-like rocks. Its still perfectly possible to skate it, but you will invariably need to start at a back portion of the plaza.

If you’re coming here to get famous, know that pretty much every single trick has been done on it.

There are also some stair sets and cutty spots scurried around throughout the apartment complex.

Bust — ♦♦ / Occasional: The people from the adjacent school may occasionally tell you to leave, but that is normally only within school hours. Otherwise, the park does tend to get crowded with little kids, hoodrats and the occasional crackhead during warmer months, so you may wind up waiting a bit between turns.

Location: Cherry Street and Catherine Street in the Lower East Side. Take the F to East Broadway, skate west on East Broadway for four blocks until you reach Catherine Street. Make a left on Catherine Street and skate east towards the water. The spot is just past Madison Street on the southern side of the block.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge):