#tfreport via Naquan Rollings’ “$$$six” edit
The mayor got indicted, the Knicks are good enough that you’ve barely heard the words “J*mes D*lan” as of late, and LaGuardia airport is somehow the best airport in America? Who even knows what’s going on anymore, but we’re trying our goddam best over here at QS HQ.
15. Ocean Hill Park
Skateparks exist for two reasons. One, to give skateboarders a place to skate. Two, for skateboarders to have something to complain about. Queue the old Chris Rock joke about having a diamond dick, but for skaters and their relationships to skateparks.
Ocean Hill was unique in that everyone was like “…wait, do I have like a sudden compulsion to… yaknow, not whine and moan about a new skatepark?”
Jk, it’s way out in Brownsville, of course someone was complaining about that.
14. Design-By-Community Hits A Snag
Ah yes, democracy. The iconic Greek invention that we pretend is our own.
Earlier this year, Tenant and us held a contest where people submitted their concepts for Blue Park obstacles, and the one that got the most votes, we built.
Seems simple, right?
C’mon. Of course it isn’t that simple.
Despite the voting being overwhelmingly in favor of a specific obstacle [Ed. note: This was not the frontrunner favorite amongst the QS office] and the designer of that obstacle being like, “Yeah, this is pretty much it” after the construction was done, the punditry was ablaze.
“Wtf is this man?!”
“No pool coping Philly step?”
“This isn’t what the blueprint said!”
“Only GOOD skaters can skate this!”
“Did you get this off Temu?”
Needless to say, we received a quick crash course in how the skatepark designers that didn’t build Ocean Hill feel every time they unveil a skatepark.
Next step? The commenters wanted a Pool Coping Philly Step. A crowd favorite. Sure.
What did we do? Built a Pool Coping Philly Step.
What happened? After some initial hype, the thing became a glorified bleacher.
Kinda makes you realize why most T.F. spots are just boxes, launch ramps and flat bars. Or why bars mainly sell wings, burgers and fries.
Which brings us to…
13. The First [Real] Quarterpipe In Tompkins Since The 80s
When we met with the Parks Department to talk them out of covering Tompkins with AstroTurf, the Manhattan Parks Commissioner, William Castro, asked us if we knew about the Shut demo that went down in the ‘80s.
“Yep, but only from old photos.”
“I paid for those ramps,” he told us.
Long story short: Tompkins was saved, Castro backed us, and that quarteripe in the southeast corner of the park better get enshrined in stone with Castro’s name on it.
Funny how a genre of obstacle that dates its presence at T.F. as far back as 1989 was the one that go the most action in 2024 + Grant Taylor showed up.
12. The Montrose L Bump’s Uphill Battle
Sean Ryan via NB#’s “High Noon” video
Pero Simic via Naquan Rollings’ “Roadkill – Episode 3” video for Thrasher
Skateboarding is evolving so fast that a spot deemed “good, if only it weren’t uphill” for twenty years became a “possible, if you have a tow-in”-spot in 2020, and in 2024, just became some shit an Australian can impossible over after a throw-down, or a guy could approach perpendicular from the downhill end, and 5050 his way down.
11. Gabriel Fortunato Does A Back 180
Two consecutive sets of nine stairs are nobody’s idea of a proving ground for remaining innovation — especially a nine that has been switch backside 360 kickflipped. After Sully Cormier no comply’d up the main nine in Play Dead, you kinda had to figure, yeah, that’s it.
But then, a young man on a Summer Trip to N.Y.™ from Brazil managed to throw a back 180 on the ~twenty-foot-long slab of flat that separates the two, and then it’s like, of courseeeeeee…
10. Down By Law
There is something to be said about skate video auteur-ism, and how a sponsorless video helmed by a local legend-behind-the-lens is the true way to achieve it. A blend of hometown heroes, worldwide heroes, nostalgic aesthetics updated for today, and an ensemble of current-day spot scavengers made Paul Young’s latest feel like the healthiest balance of living in the moment but actively respecting what came before you — in the skate video sense.
9. The Maspeth Ledges
Those memes about deciding where to eat have nothing on the group chats with friends you’ve had for a decade arguing about where to skate.
Someone is crying about how they hate skateparks, someone else is all “I was just there on Thursday and I suck,” someone else is trying to crowbar in the fact that they have dinner with their brother-in-law a 6:30 in an entirely different borough — how is that any of our fucking problem?
The great unifier of 2024 group texts? Maspeth. So much that you’d show up, and find seven other crews also unified by the idea of going to Maspeth, until you sat on your phone for thirty minutes before bailing to show up early to your stupid dinner with your brother-in-law.
8. Nikolai’s Switch Tre Crook
The Flushing grate has been in a bit of a rut of diminishing returns. Can you name a trick that went down on it this year, regardless of how crazy they are? Two, maybe? Yeah. It’s a mash.
The *extension though?
It is the stepchild of Flushing obstacles, and there is no better way to catch people’s attention than to do the Rodney Torres trick that was ahead of its time when he did it in the late-90s — switch.
7. Jace Does Some Ollies
The Borough Hall ollie: a handful of people tried it and have kept it back-logged for a return. Until they didn’t have to:
The Reggaeton ollie? Yeah, nobody thought to do that until you saw the bail of him trying it in Jeff Cecere’s video last year.
A year later, he did it. Sheesh.
6. The Water Street Spot Apocalypse
Joseph Campos did a trick on Water Street this year that any of our pre-teen selves would have deemed absolutely impossible at the time. Skating on Water Street — the proverbial Vegas strip of New York skate spots — has been absolutely downhill ever since.
The spot he did it on? Gone.
The more approachable ledge-to-bank thingy right next to it that has been front blunted by everyone from Ben Blundell to Andrew Reynolds? Gone.
The low-barrier-to-entry three-stair spot with no name across the street? Gone.
Going north: Pyramid Ledges? Inundated with construction.
Across the street, at the immediate-bust-but-why-not-try white ledges? Gone.
Shit, ok, let’s go to Battery Park.
Lol.
Bonus Mini Rapidfire 5
The New Pro Spotlight: Five on Flat.
Most Welcome Guest Appearance: Brian Brown in Paul Coots’ HURT Video.
A.I, Make Me A New Version of an Already Existing Skate Bar: Commodore II.
Lowest Lift One-Spot Part Edit: Kurt Havens’ “Statue of Limitations” video filmed entirely at the Prospect Park Abarham Lincoln statue.
Bro You Gotta Go Back And Get That:
This is top tier skate journalism