#tfreport — Tompkins Construction Begins Today

Construction to renovate the Tompkins Square Park ball-field — better known as the T.F. — began today. Posted signs say that it will reopen on December 1st. However, we’ve been around long enough to know that the city takes its time, and that date could get extended into the future.

We outlined the basic changes occurring to the park in the post announcing the construction: new asphalt fixing all the cracks, obviously no AstroTurf, a painted track on the floor, no more dugouts, more benches (though they are the 1939 World’s Fair benches), and an end to all permitted sports allowed in the space (meaning no more Sunday hockey in the fall or District Attorney softball in the summer.) The skateable obstacles that were in good condition were placed in storage. The ones that were falling apart were discarded.

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It Was the Best of Flat, It Was the …Best of Flat

Something for the mansion-having sauna soakers out there: Naquan Rollings has a new, mostly New York montage out, entitled “$$$four.” Neil Herrick’s double-bar 5050 on the Manhattan side of the Queensboro Bridge bikepath is so sick. Saw marks on it early this summer and wondered if anything besides a bonk had been done.

The Say You Swear podcast chatted with Bronze mastermind, Peter Sidlauskas, for over two hours in their latest episode.

Jahmal Williams is the latest subject of Lookback Library’s cover discussions series, recounting his memories of three different covers, from three different decades.

Stu Kirst rides for Baker.

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I Can Buy Myself Griptape, Write My Name on the Tail

📸 via Zach Baker

For Fuck’s Sake: The Tompkins construction start date has been moved …again. October 16th. Going to stop posting these every week from here on out. It starts when it starts. (P.S. Some of the in-better-shape obstacles have been moved into storage.)

“They had a trashcan fire in one of those iconic Love Park bins. It was so cold that people’s bushings were freezing up making turning impossible… They had to grab their board and leave it by this trashcan fire for five minutes, which would buy them five minutes of skating before the bushings froze back up and they had to do it again… It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, people everywhere.” Palace videographer, Jack Brooks, is the latest subject of the Slam City Skates blog’s “Visuals” series, in which he discusses Bill’s “Pigeon” edit, the Palace Kalis board, filming Lucien’s Palasonic part, and more.

A watershed moment in the Bobshirt franchise: an hour-long interview with Rick Howard and Mike Carroll.

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