The First Skatepark Endorsement Post On QS (Ever)

There are a lot of skateparks in this city, and we commend the efforts of all those responsible for their creation. However, this is a web destination composed of people abiding by a “If you can’t ollie up it, don’t ollie down it” motto, who define a good ledge spot as “another thing to do 5050s on.” If you’re not looking to simulate skating on a real handrail or learning to skate a ramp-to-ledge (Tribeca), if you aren’t a bowl hero (Chelsea), if you leave northern Brooklyn and don’t insist on skating inherently bad skateparks (McCarren), and if you don’t want to share a park with a bunch of wax-friendly, thugged-out rollerbladers (The Bronx) — Canarise is the best skate park in New York City. (Yes, it’s better than Astoria.)

Pros:
– It’s the most low-impact park in the city. It looks like it was made for kids who just began skating, and old guys who don’t like jumping down things. Aside from the two quarterpipes at the start of the park’s “snake run,” there is nothing over four feet in height.
– It has the best flow out of any skatepark in New York. It’s a run of mellow obstacles leading into an eventual pit of a street course.
– There are two benches and one straight ledge in the “run” portion of the park. Not the best place to come if you’re looking to learn a ledge trick, but it’s better than the other five parks in the city for that purpose. Eventually, New York-based skatepark designers will appreciate the value of a simple not-too-high and not-too-low straight ledge at a skatepark, but that day has yet to arrive.

Cons:
– It’s in…the…middle…of…nowhere. It’s a 25-minute local road drive from Park Slope. Apparently, you need to take the L to the last stop, and a bus to get there via public transportation. It’s far. As hell. Like, really, really, far.
– There are no stores around. There’s a water fountain, but that’s it.
– There are already a few mini-craters in the concrete at the top of the Euro gap. Maybe they’re an anomaly, but it is a bit of a red flag for a park that has been open for a month. Hopefully, it doesn’t take the McCarren route of being great for the first half-year, and eventually turning to shit due to bad concrete work.

NY Skateboarding had a detailed post with pictures and videos up last month, but here are a few more.

Mellow banks. There are none of those in New York, but this place has them.

You could even save yourself a trip to China out in Canarise.

15 Comments

  1. yeah based on these photos this is the polar opposite of what the rest of the country imagines brooklyn to look like

  2. who said canarsie is in the middle of nowhere? maybe to out towners it is. theres a little ceasers,mcdonalds, and subways like 10 blocks away from the park. and you can take the 2 or 3 to franklin ave and take the bus there

  3. That spot looks perfect for me and the homies damn no trip to china but i have to go from ore. out to nyc i think itd be worth it id probably become a hobo and skate there all the time until it was winter but hey at least it wouldnt be raining non stop like in p-town. btw if you come to pdx ed benedict skatepark off powell and 98th is kinda similair. just ignore the loser bikers that go there they dont rip and are super obnoxious but they only show up at night. feel free to beat their dumbasses haha!

  4. lil caesers is peasant food. sides that ten canarsie blocks are ten avenues anywhere else in ny

  5. May be worth mentioning the resurgence of gold being donned by many a predominant Manhattan skater as of late. Presumably due to the forever 90’s centric local fashion sense. Jusayin…

  6. i’ve yet to take a trip out there. Can anyone tell me what kind of crowd to expect when im over there?


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