We All Knew This Day Would Come — They’re Knobbing Big Screen

Given the ups and downs that the bust at this spot has experienced over the past decade-plus, it’s a shocker this step has taken so long: as of this morning, maintenance crews have began knobbing the ledges at Big Screen.

It was supposed to get knobbed back when the building first boarded the park off in July 2020 — after the park got too wild at the start of the pandemic (there’s footage from that era where you literally see people having sex in the background of people’s lines), but then they simply …re-opened it. For years, security guards and maintenance dudes have been alluding to the fact that “something” was about to change there, so it looks like this is what they meant.

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There Will Be No [skating at the] Church This Sunday

Home of many a frontside 5050 back 180 out and 5-0 back shove-out, this sliver of a marble wall protruding from a place of worship on 114th and Morningside will no longer play host to future “Summer Trip to New York!” endeavors. As per intel via @lcuadrado18 on Instagram, the church installed brackets over the main ledge. It is a shock it took them this long — because for the past ~ten years, you’d pull up to this thing and there’d be a mob of kids who just got kicked off the Columbia campus bashing into the wall during a 6 P.M. service, while some maintenance worker from the church is losing his mind about the noise. Gotta stack tho.

The wax on the upper section of the wall was a much speculated-on mystery in 2018-2019, until 917 #2 came out and we were all like, “Duh, Max. Obviously.”

Now, all we have left to do on W 114th Street is wait out the scaffolding on the Zipper Ledge, which has been there since like 1987.

A Tale of Four Knobs — A Skate Spot’s Slow, Ongoing Journey To Liberation

Knobs get conquered in a number of ways. Beyond the obvious — actually being de-knobbed — two things happen to render them obsolete.

One, is that skateboarding evolves. The cliché goes something like: “without struggle, there is no progress.” When spots are knobbed, our most able-bodied athletes see an invitation to have quicker feet and longer ollies. This can be seen via people skating past the knobs at Pyramid Ledges, and between the knobs at Verizon Banks — though it will take a generation of people thinking Tiago is “normal” before the re-knobbed Veterans manny pad gets unlocked again. (Its first post-knob unlocking occured under the supervision of Anthony Pappalardo in the 1870s, A.K.A. in Fully Flared.)

Option two is playing the long game. You wait for weather, rust and general wear-n’-tear to do their things.

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R.I.P. To The 12th Best Spot In The Financial District

This place — whatever you called it — got knobbed.

The neighbors from the adjacent roof threw marshmallows at us the second or third time we ever skated here, so it got dubbed “Marshmallow Ledges” on the spots page — though nobody ever called it that. It was “those wooden ledges on the sidewalk over by World Trade with the kinked metal bench before it.” The park was part of a W Hotel, except what a boring thing to name even a boring spot after.

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Anarchy Town

“A disc jockey, prison guard and a lumberjack walk into a vape lounge. A lounge team member looks up and says: ‘I know you folks. You must be coming from Human Resources Online’s list of the worst professions in 2018, ranked in terms of average salary and advancement opportunities, right?’ Before they can answer, a pro skateboarder wanders in behind them.” — Boil the Ocean explores the dynamics of skateboarding’s shrinking middle class as we approach the 2020s.

It seems Michael Jordan has been watching Josh Velez’s past couple parts.

Dudes skating Everson between piles of snow: “…Or Get Off The Pot” is a new Syracuse edit from Lukas Reed.

Village Psychic had a couple nice pieces on their site recently. First, they caught up with contributors to Transworld, old and new, to get some recollections on the mag, and they also got Tony Hawk on the horn about where he (as someone who has had the widest range of endorsement deals in existence) draws the line on corporate sponsors.

Thrasher posted the interviews and photos from their feature on the Chrystie vid.

Even a bunch of dudes from Germany who haven’t grown tired of skating the same downtown spots summer after summer aren’t resistant to T.F. West’s magnetic pull. “Transit Ride” is a half New York / half L.A. mini video by Paul Herrman. (And also confirms that you aren’t really dating yourself by pointing out Gang Starr in the most oft-skated to rap artist conversation.)

Spring is for cab flips. Zach Moore’s part in Skating Is Easy is now online.

“If I saw the spots he skates waxed, I’d just think it was rollerbladers.” Thrasher uploaded the raw files to Brandon Westgate’s “Bog Town” part, filmed primarily (all?) around his home in New England.

Brad Cromer is the latest guest on The Bunt.

Yet another reminder to watch Minding The Gap if you still haven’t summoned the nerve to type in your card # for that free Hulu trial… Free interviewed the film’s director, Bing Liu. They were slow to get to it at first too, but became instant fans once they watched the film.

Ricardo Napoli’s video, Ciao, is premiering at The Woods in Williamsburg (48 S 4th Street) tonight at 7 P.M. You can watch his last video, Making It Happen, here.

Spot Updates — 1) The ledges on 110th and Central Park West had chunks taken out of all of them by the city. 2) Haven’t seen footage of it in a bit, but recently received an email tip that Queens’ Broadway Park is currently fenced off for construction.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Haven’t had Russ on here in a minute.

Quote of the Week: “You know what, his style isn’t fake. He’s just ugly.” — Stafhon

A nice Monday morning mix from Roctakon. Listen while you sit alone in a smoke-filled cafe before skating, watching your past lovers cry ♥