Spots: Midtown Manhattan — Midtown East

Spot: The Fuji Building plaza was redesigned in late 2007, and has since stood as undeniably one of the most beautiful (in the skateboard sense) spots in all of New York City. Unfortunatley, unlike its previous incarnation which featured an ensemble of short ledges over three and quick set-up ledge to ledge gaps that you could skate for hours upon end without security coming to kick you out, the new version has remained under a very tight watch ever since it was first opened to the public.

The spot is covered with perfect marble blocks, all of varying lengths, some with ends, and some without. Everything sits on absolutely flawless marble ground on top of a five stair platform, which renders the entire park one of the most ideal locations for lines in the entire city. It is almost as if any possible gripe you could have with Pualski Park was taken into account and remodeled to be one of the most unintentionally perfect skate spots ever.

In the back, there is a twelve stair, and a ten stair handrail approachable from both sides, out of the view from security.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦♦ / Almost Immediate: There is a twenty-four hour security guard posted up here, even on major holidays. Most of the time, he’s not a nice guard either. He says “fuck” a lot, and insists on referring to everyone as “nigga,” even though in my particular case, my blonde hair / blue eyes combo somehow makes his observation a bit incorrect if you were to analyze it in a traditional racial slur sense. If he is not on duty, there is another guard who makes it his business to remind you that he is Dominican, from the Heights, and above all, from the hood. He will not refrain from reminding you that he is “from da hood” until you walk away and he is no longer in earshot. Oftentimes, his offer to fight him after he gets off work comes up as well. Oh, he speaks in Spanish too. Only in Spanish. In Spanish, he will explain to you that by skateboarding at the given location, you are messing with his money, his job, and his livelihood. Even when you respond to him in Spanish, he will respond with a statement that does not exactly correspond with your’s, even if you phrase it in his tongue of choice. Put some laxatives in coffee and offer him a free Starbucks cup. Maybe that will buy you some time.

Location: 51st Street and Park Avenue. Take the E, V or 6 to 53rd Street–Lexington Avenue. Skate west for one block until you hit Park Avenue, and then skate south for two blocks until you hit 51st Street.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge):