Civic Center — A Profile of the L.E.S. Skatepark at Ten Years

Words by Ian Browning
Photos by Christian Kerr

“Tell me how someone shits on a wall?” Nestor, who works for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, says to me between bites of a ham-egg-and-cheese on a roll. The first Parks employee at Coleman Playground is supposed to unlock the bathrooms upon arrival, but the men’s room is out of service. Nestor is the second person from Parks to show up — a lawnmower driver is sitting in the bleachers by Market Street, waiting for a lawnmower to be dropped off — and there is a piece of paper that reads “Bathrooms OOS” taped to the door of the bathroom. Nestor dances around what’s actually wrong in there, but the situation is severe enough that a second Parks employee reiterates that it is closed before I can say a word to him.

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Midtown Sundays, Museum Mondays

Antonio via Paul Coots. The footage of this one was in the 2018 “End of Summer” edit, but felt worth reminding everyone how insane it was. This photo does it great justice ♥ Just observe the height ;)

Jawn Gardner uses his gifts to do what nobody else can in an incredible new Earth Day part. The line at CBS is maybe the most third-eye-open choreography that place has ever seen.

What an amazing idea for a feature… “‘Perfect Days’ will interview familiar faces in the Boston and Northeast scene, and pose them with the simple question: what was one of your favorite sessions ever?” The Orchard Skate Shop blog is following the footsteps of the Slam City Skates blog in creating good, old-fashioned web content outside the Insta-sphere. Kevin Coakley is the inaugural edition. (Fwiw, all-time favorite skate day around here is probably Yume Farm with *literally everybody* in fall 2018 ♥)

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