Spots: Downtown Manhattan — Financial District

Spot: First off, for the record, lets agree that “Heaven” is the worst name for a spot ever. However, it is the most common name for this place, so to avoid confusion we will have to succumb to the linguistic pressures of the crowd. Hopefully, it has more to do with the spot’s upstairs location than with a bunch of fourteen-year-olds’ aspirations of skating an over-sized three stair once they happen to meet the man upstairs.

It is one of the best spots downtown, not counting the fact that it is an immense bust. There are a handful of secrets about skating here, but you will have to figure them out on your own. This spot used to lack a security presence when it was first built in 2005, but predictably, it became the most popular spot in all of Manhattan for a good month, and a perpetual hangout for every single group of skateboarders spending the day downtown, so building managers quickly caught on.

The entire plaza is located in an upstairs region adjacent to the S&P Building. There is an assortment of wooden benches that you can skate, two sets of seven when you first enter, and a corner of oversized concrete stairs that happens to be the most recognizable portion of the spot. There is a three block (equivalent to a six-stair), and a five block (equivalent to about a ten or eleven set), and all of the landings quickly run into a pit of astro turf after the initial patch of concrete. All of the bottom ledges can be skated, including one with a curve. There is also a low step-up ledge and a handful of other low ledges at the western tip of the plaza as well. All of the ledges are frequently sandblasted, so bring some wax to be on the safe side.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦♦ / Almost Immediate: The building has installed cameras to catch you coming up the stairs when you first arrive, so odds are against you from the get-go. There is also a speaker system that gives building security a chance to tell you to leave via loudspeaker and not have to leave the comfort of the indoors once they catch sight of you. They will claim the police have been dispatched, but any idiot knows that the NYPD has bigger and better things to worry about than skateboarders in the Financial District. You can buy yourself a bit of time by ignoring them, but it will invariably only grant you an additional three or four minutes.

Location: The entrance is on South Street, behind the S&P Building. Take the R or W to Whitehall Street, skate north on Water Street until you reach Old Slip. Make a right on Old Slip and curve around the back of the building until you see three large staircases ascending to an elevated plaza across from where the FDR Drive first starts to ascend. The spot is upstairs.

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