Spots: Queens — Astoria & Long Island City

Update — March 2011: The park installed a fence around the perimeter of the basketball court’s interior. It doesn’t affect the spot too much, but you can no longer skate the drop down ledges from the outside pathway leading into the basketball court.

Spot:

If you’re set on skating a Queens ledge spot, and don’t want to take the 40-minute trip to Flushing, this is a safe bet. There are loads of waxed ledges, some painted concrete ones, some bare concrete ones and an assortment of slightly rounded off metal bleachers extending from other ledges — however most of the ledges do not have ends. All the stuff here is either on basketball court style ground or smooth concrete tile ground. The main thing here that could probably be spotted in videos every once in a while is the metal ledge that extends over a concrete ledge below it. It is about two feet high, with a three-foot drop at the end. There are two ledges over stairs as well: one low one over a six, and a high one over a four.

Bust — ♦ / Rare: You will never get kicked out of here, but it’s best not to come here during the summer on weekends, because there’s usually a basketball tournament going on then. Any other time should let you skate here for however long you want.

Location: Vernon Boulevard and 48th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. Take the 7 train to Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue. Skate north on Vernon Boulevard for two blocks. The spot is in Hunter’s Point Park and can be spotted by a perimeter composed out of four-foot high concrete spheres.

Pictures (Click to Enlarge):