Forbidden banks

Banished To Our Memories — Rest in Peace to Forbidden Banks

Daily News May 17th, 2022 · 12:00 am · 7

There has seldom been a Manhattan spot that incited thoughts of “Well, what did you think was going to happen when you built this?” quite like Forbidden Banks did.

Located between an apartment building and the Jamaican Consulate, this maybe five-foot-high brick embankment lead up to an uninviting wooden platform. The spot was nestled between so many tall buildings that it rarely encountered natural light; there are far better parks nearby for an office worker to enjoy lunch, and few people ever chilled here.

The plaza did, however, invite an unintentional activity.

This spot had been around since many of us were kids skating midtown for the first time. It earned its name because you could consider yourself lucky if you got more than a try-and-a-half. How they hadn’t skateblocked it after decades of trench warfare with security and doormen was one of New York skateboarding’s great mysteries.

Spots: Midtown

UPDATE — MAY 2022: The banks have been torn down.

John Shanahan via Bronze 56k’s It’s Time

Who the fuck even knows what they were thinking when they built this place.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦♦: As you might be able to tell from the name, you are not allowed to skate here. You also get kicked out by security in half-a-second, 99% of the time. The building is near a lot of embassies, so it is in a particularly security-heavy section of the city.

Location: 48th Street and Third Avenue.

The Best Skate Videos & Parts of 2023 — QS Readers Poll Results

Features & Interviews December 22nd, 2023 · 12:00 am · 9

🎨 Illustration by Cosme Studio
📊 Ballot Count by 4Ply Magazine

The results are in: a time-capsule of 2023 skateboarding, as voted by QS readers. Some old favorites have returned to the rankings, and some new ones have emerged.

And yes, it should be stated, perhaps louder than in other years, that year-end rankings are an imperfect artform. Miles Silvas’ “City To City” part that would eventually land him Thrasher‘s S.O.T.Y. trophy premiered a few hours before voting for the QS Readers Poll closed (that didn’t stop him from getting some votes in those final moments though.) Yuto dropped his April part three days after voting closed. But we are committed to the belief that nobody wants to talk about 2023 after Christmas. And for a year when it felt like Skateboard Oscars Season™ began in August, we had to make the call. All those parts that missed the cutoff will be eligible for next year’s voting, same as years past.

If you are just joining us, this ranking was voted on by QS readers from December 4th to December 8th. If you’re interested in the methodology, 4PLY broke down how we tally the votes ✨

The 2023 Quartersnacks Year in Review: 25-16

Features & Interviews December 5th, 2023 · 2:45 pm · 3

Let’s get it going — a review of the year when it rained every single weekend in the summer.

Without further ado, here is the minutiae, the laughter, the tears, the triumphs and defeats that defined the year 2023 in New York skateboarding.

The Good Times of Yesterday, Today — Pangea Jeans & John Shanahan’s ‘ROADRAGE’ Video

Daily News October 11th, 2023 · 12:02 pm · 2

The old proverb goes something like, “Yeah, now well, the thing about the old days is… they the old days.”

Yet for all the handwringing that gets done about things changing and spots disappearing, there sure are a lot of remaining markers of the old days for nostalgia exercises. Take for instance “ROADRAGE,” the new edit from John Shanahan’s Pangea Jeans imprint, filmed on the same camera they probably filmed Real’s Non Fiction video on in 1996. In it, you’ll find the Battery Park three-stair that Gino nollie back heeled in The Chocolate Tour (with a Las Nueve Vidas De Paco-looking nollie backside flip floating down it.) The Greenwich Street windowsill ledges where Harold Hunter did the sweaty backside heelflip at! Tricks at the upper portion of Pyramid Ledges! The L.A. Department of Water and Power Building! The past is — at a bare minimum — thriving.