The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2012: 15-11

Previously: #s 25-21, 20-16. Have a good weekend.

15. The Average Completion-of-Construction-to-Knobbing Time Frame For New Skate Spots Reaches an Unprecedented Low

New York continues to have issues with underreported hate crimes. For the first time ever, the under-construction spots that we have been eyeing for months have begun coming with pre-installed knobs (cue up Rob Welsh’s Free Your Mind intro.) Consult the too-good-to-be-true “Late Show Ledges” on Broadway, and even bad spots like those marble blocks across from the Hilton on Sixth or those shitty wooden ledges at the hospital by the Banks for examples, all of which got knobbed within a month of blockades coming down.

14. High Fashion Finally Discovers the T.F.

It is amazing that a fashion epicenter like the T.F. managed to sit under the industry’s nose for so long without detection. Rap video producers have been utilizing Tompkins for casting purposes for nearly ten years, while the fashion industry sat around SoHo looking for dudes dressed like railroad workers. Better ten years late than never. This year, capital-F fashion recognized Tompkins’ trademark style when Rag and Bone casted the handsome Long Islander Chief Keith and others for their Spring/Summer 2013 campaign shoot. Hopefully, they knew ahead of time that you can pay skateboarders with beer and product for these sort of things, and not actual American currency.

13. Yaje Goes M.I.A.

FYI: There’s way more unreleased recent, post-Outdated footage than this. Bug Rob Harris about it.

The disappearance of Billy Lynch was once the most hotly debated missing persons case on Quartersnacks. After four years, it finally takes a backseat to Yaje’s mysterious departure. Once a glimmer of hope in a sea of complacent natives and “they don’t really count” transplants (some embittered green benchers will insist Yaje also “doesn’t count” because he’s Brazilian), most of us who have been around since T.F. Year Zero cheered for Yaje as he graduated from Big Apple Skate, to Crailtap, to his own four-page section in Skateboarder. Since moving back to Brazil for an indefinite amount of time earlier this year, our narrative for a native son of the T.F. finally “making it” has come to a halt. We miss u Yaje. (Miley does too.)

12. Hurricane Sandy Causes Shift in Socio-Economic Standings Between Manhattan and Brooklyn Residing Skateboarders

In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series over the New York Yankees in seven games. On November 26, 2012, the Brooklyn Nets beat the New York Knicks in overtime 96-89. (They lost their next two meetings and will likely lose the fourth one.) And from October 29 to November 2, electricity-having (northern) Brooklyn most certainly won, as lower Manhattan residents were stuck without power / refrigerated alcohol due to Hurricane Sandy, and thus left at the mercy and generosity of those they had once laughed at for moving to Brooklyn.

11. New Core Shop Opens Downtown To Fill the Void Left By Autumn

Autumn broke our hearts, so falling in love again will be tough. We’re going to be detached, paranoid and unwilling to trust others for quite some time. But maybe — just maybe — in another year, maybe two, we’ll be ready to pick up the pieces and move on. Labor’s distance from the T.F. and proximity to the L.E.S. Park may be an indicator that we are not right for one another, but that hasn’t stopped the shop from trying to woo us by providing Tompkins with a new box. However, our lovelorn inner voice continues to scream about how Labor will only hurt us like Autumn did if we get too involved. It’s a good shop…it’s just going take time before we can overcome our fear of commitment after having our hearts stomped on by a size 12 pair of Verte x Etnies shoes.

Bonus Mini Ten — Noteworthy NY-based Web Videos From 2012 (No Particular Order, Besides the Top One):

1. Lurker Lou Mean Man Remix
Paulgar For Autumn
Be Pretty
Dobbin Block: Useless Times
video.
NJ Scum – “We Back”
Gyro
Steady Lurking
Gravity Hammers
Polar: No Complies & Wallrides+shuvits
Last minute 11th addition since it came out this week…Adidas in NYC