The Skatepark Project Archives

There Is Now A Granite Ledge At Tompkins

Daily News March 28th, 2026 · 12:17 pm

In 2014 — an era when Tompkins obstacles were still frequently removed — the longest lasting obstacle of the year was a sliver of triangular granite, nicknamed The Tombstone. It was a hint of things to come.

Because as of today, there is a fully sanctioned, 15-inch high straight granite ledge at Tompkins, with ends on each side. Nothing in this world is permanent, especially skate spots, but you could expect a few thousand pounds of rock to stick around for a while. Should be a fun summer, at the very least ;)

Thanks to Nike SB, The Skatepark Project, and California Skateparks for making it happen. Shout out to Connor Champion for his persistent quest to get a Straight Fucking Ledge™ to the East Village. (The first one ever maybe?) Thank you to Steve R. for connecting the dots with the city and Parks. Shout out to Andre Lezema for the install. Gotta go grind the edge down a bit next.

The Big Banks Section of the Brooklyn Banks Is Open To The Public

Daily News June 5th, 2025 · 10:45 am · 6

As of this morning, the refurbished big banks section of the Brooklyn Banks — underneath the Manhattan side of Brooklyn Bridge between Rose Street and Water Street — is open to the public for the first time since summer 2010.

This is part two of a three-part effort to restore the spot to the skateable condition in was in before 2004 renovations. (As you may recall, the small banks were supposed to be phase two, but they switched places with the big banks to become phase three once they were only restored to post-2004 condition back in November 2024.)

The New Blue Park Obstacles Make Their Rainy Debut Today

Daily News July 16th, 2023 · 2:10 pm · 4

You might recall the panic siren going off on Instagram a few weeks ago when they first fenced off Blue Park for construction. (To be fair, there’s precedent for panic over there.)

The park reopens today, on this obvious torrential wash-out of a Sunday, with a handful of new obstacles built by The Skatepark Project (formerly known as the Tony Hawk Foundation), and Vans.

The new stuff includes:

Day Trip to the Suburbs — A #spotcheck on the Alexis Sablone-designed Park in Montclair, NJ

Daily News April 5th, 2023 · 12:55 pm · 2

If you haven’t been skating for too long, you’d be forgiven if you thought that cities ceding spaces containing D.I.Y. spots over to skaters was a longtime phenomenon. Sure, there are famous precedents (Burnside, et al.), but even in New Jersey, the location of today’s subject, the reality has often gone the other way. Newark’s Shorty’s D.I.Y. and Fred Gall’s Jody’s Spot were both recently torn down in favor of nothing.

Two weekends ago, Montclair, New Jersey had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Rand Park B.K.A. Candy Courts, for the unveiling of eight skateable sculptures designed by known goat, Alexis Sablone. The former tennis courts were a suburban, Tompkins-like spot that people would bring boxes, flatbars and ramps to — there is even a lil’ graveyard off to the side of mini Element flatbars and plastic ramps you get at sporting goods stores. The courts got increasingly popular over the COVID years, and caught the eye of The Skatepark Project, the non-profit you likely know as The Tony Hawk Foundation (the old name.) They flowed the park $25k and Skate Essex, another nonprofit that advocates for skateboarding in North Jersey, provided additional fundraising dollars.