To everyone still @ing us on social media to let us know that The Triangle™ is back: no the fuck it’s not. The cement is shit, the pink bumps are shit, and nobody on the Frog team has responded to a “are you skating?”-text in a month :(
But we’re no less still hooked on triangles, desperate to restore the joy of E. 9th Street’s onetime premier destination for a 50% chance of getting hit by a car. Philly skaters forced Love Park into resurrection once City Hall was destroyed, and Muni became a natural alternative once Love met the same fate. However riddled with champagne problems New York skateboarding may be — we never had the luxury of being able to replace something as special as Love by walking across the street to a nearly-as-good spot.
Like an opioid epidemic, once the good designer shit runs scarce, the demand for shittier alternatives rises. And lately, people have been skating some shitty triangles.
“Eternal Youth in Tompkins Square” is a New York Times style section feature documenting many of the new(ish) faces around T.F. these past couple years, shot by our friend Danny Weiss, with words from Ted Barrow, the skater who Jason Byoun would show his mom if she asked what skateboarding was.
“This spot is long gone. We called them ‘Chelsea Banks’ because they were on the West Side Highway in Chelsea, directly across the highway from, what is today, the Chelsea Piers Skatepark. Today this spot is a little green triangular park, but back then it was a shit show.” TWS interviewed original Zoo York co-founder, Eli Gesner, and original Shut rider, Jeremy Henderson, about filming Mark Gonzales during the first time he ever came to New York in 1987.
Calzone is Matt Velez’s sequel to Sable, due to premiere in Brooklyn on November 30th. Full parts from Mark Humienik, Nick Ferro, et al. Flyer here. Small teaser here.
Quote of the Week Observant Gentleman: “It’s crazy you ride for Polar but aren’t good at wallies.” Hjalte Halberg: “Yeah, but at least I learned no complys recently.”
Colin Sussingham has been posting a bunch of photographs from the 917 video over on The Local Weather. The Max photo above is stolen from there obvs.
Here is a YouTube link to the 917 video, for all those averse to fringe video players. Still overwhelmed by how contagiously good vibes that entire video is.
“What’s the hardest trick in skateboarding?” “Getting a job.” There’s been a relatively decent batch of content about skateboarding’s most difficult maneuver floating around this past week: Heath Kirchart ranks all the jobs he’s had since retiring from pro skateboarding + Brandon Westgate talks about lumber mills and cranberries.
Brian Panebianco made an eleven minute documentary that highlights one of the bonds that formed between a homeless Love Park local and the park’s skateboarders.
“Unlike Alien Workshop, DC recognized a new generation preparing to don swishy pants and opened its East Coast flow spigots, and now spot-searching Droors-endorser John Shanahan helps DC find a path after long years of wandering.” Boil the Ocean dwells on how DC is re-routing its approach to the skate shoe landscape.
Bill Strobeck put together a VX best-of edit from roughly 2000-2004 for Thrasher.
Gotta respect a “D.C. to Boston” edit that completely skips New York. This place can be a real pain in the ass, but at least we got an hour at Big Screen Plaza yesterday.
Spot Updates: The banks under the 125th Street 1 train station have been under construction for a year or two. The oft-skated ones on the south side of 125th have a massive curb at the start now, but you can skate one on the north side of the street — although someone’s going to need to throw some Bondo on that crack right before it.
Quote of the Week Jason Byoun: “I’m depressed yo.” Inquisitive Gentleman: “Why?” Jason Byoun: “Summer’s over yo.”
“He does pretty hard tricks.” — Javier Sarmiento re: Jesus Fernandez. Part early Epicly Later’d, part “Day in the Life,” and all people just fanning out on what a great human — let alone skater — he is, Free Skate Mag‘s threepartJesus documentary is the positive force we need in all of our lives right now.
Somehow missed this one when it first came out, but Heavenly is a sixteen-minute video of mostly Texas (?) dudes skating mostly New York spots. They lowkey went in on that Water Street rail-to-rock that Connor lipslid, and switch backside flip manual at the Brooklyn Tompkins park is insane.
“You didn’t want to do outdated tricks, you wanted to stay up because the tide was moving. As much as skateboarders, critics, journalists, or whoever is recording the timeline of skateboarding want to say that there are no rules, there always has been a wave. And you’re either in the front of the wave or behind the wave.” Bobby Puleo on a simple question for Village Psychic: “How do you feel about wallies?”
Still late. Oh you thought the slump was over? New #content dropping tomorrow though :)
The roster and categories for the 2017 Dime Glory Challenge have been released. Tiago will be there. You can read Baker’s wonderful recap of last year’s event here.
An undercover cop wearing DC once asked us what DC stood for. We told him it stood for “Danny and Colin.” I guess we lied. Anyway, Droors Clothing is making a comeback. Alphanumeric up next?
Fucked up T.F. obstacle hall of fame, first ballot
“There’s no hierarchy there. No one tries to out cool each other. And I love that the place is a real public place in the sense that you meet other people there and you get to see real city life. It’s warm, it’s tough – it’s diverse.” Village Psychic with some more knowledge from the skateboard utopia that exists in Denmark’s capital city.
And like that, the trinity of 6th Ave. spots that defined our adolescent years is gone. Though it has been 70% skateblocked since 2011, Ziegfeld is now closed off for renovations. You might be able to skate the barrier off the ledge though ;)
“I learned a word the other day. Refurbish.” C’mon you know that’s a five.
Quote of the Week: “Two years from now, we’ll all be living in Maspeth.” — Max Palmer re: increasing rent costs in New York City
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