Spots: Midtown Manhattan — Gramercy, Kips Bay & Murray Hill

Update — July 3rd, 2011: The entire spot is under scaffolding, and completely unskateable.

Spot: Here you will find three, well-waxed, granite ledges in front of a small strip of stores and cafes. The main, and most-skated ledge is a foot and a half in height, eight feet long, and skateable on both sides (plaza and street side), while the others don’t have ends due to them being blocked off by rails, and are not approachable from the street. At the end of the plaza, there is a very narrow set of six stairs. If that doesn’t interest you, there are always girls in Ugg boots with college degrees coming out of the frozen yogurt place.

Across Third Avenue, in front of a high-rise apartment building, there are a bunch of very steep banks composed out of white bricks. A couple of them run along sets of five stairs so it is possible to do a slide or grind trick across the edge and roll into the embankment if the edges are re-waxed.

Bust — ♦♦♦ / Half-and-half: This is usually a winter/cold-weather spot because during warm seasons, there are chairs set out in front of the cafes, and the owners/workers are a lot less reluctant to tell you to meet it. The banks across the street are hit and run if you skate at the top of the steps, although if you stay at the bottom it’s possible that you could get in a qick session before the guard comes out. Either way, there’s no avoiding him because the security window is only ten feet away from the rest of the spot.

Location: 31st Street and Third Avenue in Murray Hill. Take the 6 to 33rd Street. Skate east for one block on 33rd Street until you hit Third Avenue. Make a right, and the spot is one block up, in front of the Gristedes.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge):