The T.F. Report

March 15th, 2012 | 4:37 pm | Spot Updates | 6 Comments

Photo by Brian Kelley

LINSANITY made us wonder how a roster depleted of its two stars could go on such an unprecedented win-streak at the helm of a previously undermined player. It turns out that the Knicks were not the only New York institution to prosper during a time that many assumed would coincide with struggle. We all left Tompkins for dead when the final post-Autumn box was stolen, believing that its influence would wane to a point where only those living within a three-block radius knew it still existed. We were all wrong.

The Knicks had Jeremy Lin. The T.F. has two orange cones. Two equally unlikely heroes. The T.F. had not lost a step amidst this period of missing obstacles, but the issue of eventually re-introducing rails and boxes has come up for discussion. Fans of the T.F. are worried about how this could affect the current harmony happening at Tompkins Square Park. See the diagram below.

Tompkins Finest Deli: The Second Coming

March 9th, 2012 | 6:38 pm | Spot Updates | 6 Comments

“Hello, I would like a grape blunt wrap, this tall can of Bud, and a panini, please.” — Average Customer

“I’ve only been in there once and never want to go back. I felt so uncomfortable; it’s run by upscale Muslims.” — E.J., notable T.F. historian

By now, you know that fears over life having to continue at the T.F. without a franchise deli were premature. A remodeled Tompkins Finest Deli recently opened, but it is clear that we have a frail, haphazardly fancied-up version of the original, which seems disinterested in catering to its most loyal consumer base.

The first red flag was the fabric signage. “Bodega” signs made of fabric typically denote Korean ownership. Though it is unlikely that there is a masked Korean store lord ruling over the Middle Eastern or “upscale Muslim” employees, the store’s management has adopted many of the Korean grocer hallmarks, namely an all-around spike in prices (though not exactly reaching the inevitable overpricing that exists at all New York corner stores with Korean owners.) Saddest of all, these price hikes were likely instated to cover costs of trivial matters — employee uniforms (Really? What happened to the workers still desperately holding on the tall tee craze of 2003?), better lighting, and a selection of baked goods.

If yesterday’s sight of a white guy dressed in business-casual attire, purchasing a red velvet cupcake from a place that previously only specialized in Dutch Masters, Arizona, Newport, and UTZ products was not a blatant-enough indicator of shifting economic interests at Tompkins Finest, they even had the nerve to get rid of their Tropical Fantasy account. Skateboarder staples like 12 oz. cans of brown sugar water, small Poland Spring bottles, and candy bars have remained at $1, but it is easy to see that we are not wanted here.

A hollow remnant of a once-slightly-below-average bodega is better than no bodega, but it’s unfortunate that Cafe Pick Me Up is the only TF-day-one institution still standing on Avenue A between 9th & 10th.

In brighter news:

The T.F. Crater

January 16th, 2012 | 3:28 pm | Quarter-Diary | 1 Comment

Dave sent this one over. Tompkins circa 2017? See if you can spot Weiss.

Filed Under: Quarter-Diary | Tags:

Shit Skateboarders Say

January 16th, 2012 | 1:07 pm | Daily News | 6 Comments

Sweet Waste in the world’s greatest tee shirt, and Lil’ Wayne dressed like a 12-year-old girl who just used her $100 Hot Topic gift card from Christmas at the Monmouth Mall. The Wayne coverage on QS has come full circle.

Akira Mowatt’s company, After Midnight New York, just dropped a team montage. The illustrious Geo Moya has the intro honors, so it’s a must-watch.

Portland, Maine isn’t exactly the first (or fifth…or tenth…) city you think of when it comes to skateboarding in the northeast. ’96 Mentality is a new mini-video out of Portland that gives a glimpse into their scene. It’s super well-edited, and the tricks and vibe give it a nineties feel, even though it’s all HD.

Here is the final throwaway clip from the PFP2 video, based out of that region just north of New York City and sponsored by 2nd Nature. You can watch the full first video here. P.S. “Get It On Tonite” is the far superior Montell Jordan single.

It’s sick that outer-borough (Brooklyn) kids can make a ten-minute video, all filmed in New York, but with barely any recognizable spots in it. Just goes to show you how big this city is. Watch the Slime video here. Also, this means the turnaround on someone skating to song off Rich Forever was what, one week?

Want to re-live Tompkins circa 2004? Watch this Super-8 reel. Some of it might look familiar because it was used in Lurkers 2.

Taji, Leo, Billy Rohan, and No Pants Day. Surprising that it has taken this long for someone to skate that fountain gap in front of the 42nd Street Library.

“I think it’s my most ignorant music video yet.” — Black Dave.

Rob Harris shares his of-the-moment jams on the DQM site. Travie, 2Chainz, Future, and a bunch of other stuff we’ve never heard of (Elvis?) is on there.

There’s not much to say about the Mark Suciu part that hasn’t already been said. (It’s scary that switch backside noseblunts down handrails just get quickly tossed in the middle of parts nowadays though.) Frozen in Carbonite makes an interesting observation though — Is everyone going to forget about it in two days? Is that really the shelf-life of a web video part these days? Do people still talk about the Dylan Reider Gravis part, the Lucas Puig TWS video, or the Torey Pudwill part from the summer?

Quote of the Week: “Autumn is fucking closed and assholes are taking pictures on iPads, the future sucks.” — Francesco Pini, Chief Officer of QS International’s Italian and Scandinavian Branches


Ok, time to watch the Knicks fall behind by thirty points in the first half, and then switch the channel to the Memphis/Chicago game. Stay warm out there. Later.

The T.F’s Final Beacon of Hope

January 12th, 2012 | 1:20 pm | Spot Updates | 12 Comments

The dust has finally began to settle on the T.F. after the last two months’ worth of socio-political crises. Nearly all prominent East Village skateboard institutions were toppled, and much like Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a gigantic landmass has been left without a stable government. The only morsel of civilization is perhaps the most archaic symbol of civilized society there is — a wooden box with angle iron.

This post is an open call to all those who have not turned their back on Tompkins at this pivotal point in history. We have documented how it has achieved legacy status, and we will all still skate here even if there is a 50-foot diameter crater in the ground with ten district attorneys’ offices playing softball around it, but let us use this one remaining box as a building block to a greater future. We are already witnessing a miracle as it approaches two weeks of life without proper storage (on track to tie or break the blue flatbar’s record.)

Several ideas have been tossed around in an effort to prolong the box’s life and stability altogether. Most notably, there is an idea of offering a contract to nearby businesses to store the box during T.F. off-hours in exchange for advertising on its exterior (chalk panels would be affixed to the sides to display daily specials.) 9th Street Espresso (skaters love coffee), Mamani’s (skaters love food that only costs $1), San Loco (skaters love diarrhea), and Blind Barber (skaters love alcohol) are several names that have come up for discussion at high-level T.F. personnel meetings. The problem is actually getting people to return the box to the said establishment should an agreement be reached. Another idea has been appealing to the most prominent weed salesmen in the area to get on some Frank Lucas/Nino Brown shit, and give back to the community by furnishing the T.F. with new obstacles, and an adjacent shipping container for their safekeeping, in exchange for a bolstered public opinion of their otherwise frowned-upon industry.

Feel free to share any ideas below (and bring the box behind the tree, next to the hockey nets next time you’re done skating it for the time being.) Astronaut Status just dropped, so maybe the T.F. won’t ever matter again, since we’ll all be living on the moon by the end of the day.