Spots: Downtown Manhattan — Financial District

Update — Fall 2011:

The entire plaza is indefinitely blocked off by barricades, and covered with cops and security guards due to the Occupy Wall Street protesters. So, you cannot skate here until all of that blows over, which could take a while.

(also known as Zuccotti Park)

Spot: Formerly only a minor downtown stop, as this park once only had several small gaps, some metal benches, and the fourteen-stair square rail that Jeff Pang 5050ed in his Mixtape part / Quim Cardona bailed on in the NYC section opener in Eastern Exposure 3, a 2006 renovation made the park one of the best spots downtown.

The plaza is peppered with marble blocks that were pre-kobbed to prevent you from skating them, but the spot was still left with a myriad of usable terrain. The entire plaza is nestled on a mellow hill with marble tiles, so you will need to mind your speed when approaching certain things because speed does tend to pick up quickly. The outer perimeter of the spot has two ascending marble ledges, one for each stance, with no ends. The end of the backside for regular ledge has a low marble platform / manual pad that can also be used as a regular ledge. Towards the Trinity Place end of the plaza, is a foot-and-two-thirds high marble ledge over six steps that is backside for regular / frontside for goofy. It has ample runway and a regular ledge with no end starting out before it, making it ideal for lines, or simply checking up on a ledge trick before you decide to toss yourself over the six.

Some of the cracks between the marble blocks may occasionally mess with you, in addition to the fact that the ledges need frequent waxing to be at their absolute best because it is not the sort of surface that absorbs candles for a long time, so ensure that you are holding some wax before coming here.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦ / Very Likely: The building across the street on the northern end of the park owns the plaza, or at least has jurisdiction over enforcing plaza regulations. Unfortunately, their security window faces everything there is to skate in the spot, so they will inevitably see you in due time. The further south you stay, the better your chances. So disguise yourself by either coming at night, or in the afternoon, when it is harder to spot skateboarders amidst the crowds. The building has been known to post security guards all day during the weekends for directing tourists and kicking out skateboarders, so the chance to skate the spot altogether may never come.

Location: Liberty Street and Trinity Place / Church Street (Trinity turns into Church), across from Ground Zero. Take the C, E, 2 or 3 to World Trade Center and skate south on Church for three blocks, past the Millenium Hilton and Century 21. The spot is across the street from the southern corner of Ground Zero.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge):