Apologies for this being a bit late. We spent all of yesterday looking for the only dry spot in New York. Past installments here: #s 25-21, #s 20-16.
15. R.I.P. to an Empire, the Water Street McDonald’s Closes
For every great skate spot, there is an accompanying fast food restaurant: the Burger King down the street from the Banks, the McDonald’s up the hill from Pulaski, the Wawa by Love, or the In-N-Out across from Hollywood High.
Water Street was once the most heavily treaded road of lower Manhattan skateboarders; Pappalardo and Wenning’s days of going to Burritoville near Pyramid Ledges to sustain on free nachos are well known. But that place closed. The aforementioned Burger King is now a high end grocery store. The nearby Wendy’s was turned into a tourist center. And this past year, the final remaining destination for hungry, poor skateboarders, shut its doors. Skating on Water Street isn’t irrelevant just because all of the spots are knobbed — but because everyone except the top 1% of skateboarders (those with an above minimum-wage income any income whatsoever, who can afford a Chipotle burrito) have effectively been priced out, right down to food options.