Columbus Park had a storied ascent to the throne as Manhattan’s most skated street spot. Over a decade has passed since it was simply a kinked ledge or an eight-stair rail that our more talented colleagues could ollie over the top of. People began to skate up the two-block and indulge in combo tricks down the ledge, but something was…missing. Have sex with the same person enough times and you’ll find yourself hinting at deeply suppressed desires via the casual “hey, wouldn’t it be funny if we ____.” The same could be said about spots that have managed to avoid knobs for 10+ years.
Given his open line of communication with Jah, it should come as no surprise that Yaje Popson was one of early proponents of Columbus Park’s nouvelle vague — via grinding the vertical part of the handrail before riding down the steps, and by angling his third eye towards the perpendicular at the now-mundane and lesser-seen kinked ledge.
But brains have been expanding at Mulberry and Worth Street early into the fall #trend season, most visibly in the 917 video, where Alex Olson’s one-time favorite skateboarder, Chris Millic, presented us with a three-pronged route from one level of the court to the other, and basically permanent Q.S.S.O.T.Y., Max Palmer, found a corner to the same ledge that nobody else had dared to examine.
You’re in for an onslaught of recap content throughout the internet, but the Dime Glory Challenge wasabsolutelybrilliant. Forever grateful to be skateboarding on the earth at the same time in history as these brilliant Canadian minds.
“What was harder to do: switch big flip Chinatown Double-Set or switch backside flip D7?” NY Skateboarding has a solid interview with Tyshawn Jones, reigning “Did you hear what _____ did?!” king of New York City.
People began skating the new Harlem skatepark on 114th Street and First Avenue (conveniently located between Haiji’s and Patsy’s) this past week. Looks kinda like Cooper Park tbh. Troy posted a clip from it, but there are a few more floating around.
People are still pissed about you skating the plaza on 110th and 8th, and hopes for a new Byrdgang video are high in the QS office. Here’s a teaser for Byrdgang 3.
Skate spots are living, breathing things. They shift with the socioeconomic climate of the time, and position themselves to best adapt with people’s needs. Skateboarding has always been reflective of greater society, so it should come as no surprise that our lives were pushed intoColumbus Park as we began to get pushed out of the pricier, glossier haunts that we once frequented in lower Manhattan.
Columbus Park sits on ominous ground. It was built on top of what was once America’s first slum: a hotbed of vice, disease, murder and clashes for control that have been documented in manybooks and films. Though it would take decades for the neighborhood to rid itself of the notoriety it earned throughout the 19th century, the city built Columbus Park in 1897. A hundred years passed, and then a guy from Clifton, New Jersey came along. The park began its second life as one of the few downtown spots you can skate in 2017 without getting kicked out.
Was contemplating taking a four-day weekend and not posting Monday Links until Wednesday, but got enough people in the office to cruise around the internet for a bit. Russ got MVP, Phil got fired and Tyshawn fakie ollied a trash can in front of Supreme since the last Monday Links post, and all of those things feel like they happened a month ago…(Don’t know who took the photo above btw.)
There are a bunch of Alltimers boys in the Blue Collar Hardware video, made by the same minds as the Green Apple videos a la secretly some of the most influential videos of the past ten years / the first influence Peter cites in anyBronze-relatedinterview / lol at people in comments calling it a Bronze bite.
Romain Batard uploaded a “Summer Trip to New York” montage with one of the cooler recent lines at Fredrick Douglas Plaza. Also, why does it seem like that spot almost exclusively appears in “_____ Trip to New York” videos?
Seems like it has been a big past couple of years for spots resurrecting. Here’s an interview about the effort to restore London’s Southbank undercroft to its original form from pre-2004. (Small Banks helllllooooo.)
Tennyson came through with yet another 411 remix, this time of Kareem Campbell and Donger. Essential viewing, especially the Kareem demo / contest footage. Wow.
“Every time you disprove the prejudices of a pedestrian, you win a small victory that reverses the erosion of our collective social capital.” As sarcastic as we may get about the tired “skaters see the world differently” trope, there’s always something reassuring in our ability to — on on some tiny level — leave the world better than it was before, provided we stop sitting around talking shit about pants for long enough. Caught in the Crossfire’s “Four Small Ways Skateboarding Can Change the World” is inspiring, intelligent and heartwarming writing for a tough world right now.
If you guys in the comments are calling Shanahan a “’99 Kalis deadringer,” you better brace yourselves for the ’99 Stevie version because its really really real.
This might be an illegal link, but here’s Yaje’s Riddles in Mathematics part til it gets taken down. Non-sketchy link to buy the video here. Sorry TWS, it’s Yaje ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“One day’s lifted bar soon becomes the next day’s hurdle to be ollied, and later kickflipped, and eventually kilty mcbagpipped for an after-credits clip set to a whimsical indie-rock tune.” — Boil the Ocean explores ledge skating’s shrinking middle class, via the lens of Tiago’s switch back tail™. And yes, YouTube debaters, Antonio could’ve easily been #1 but Tiago got it for the trick’s status as a “culture-unifying moment.”
Dumb: The Story of Big Brother Magazine is now available to stream on Hulu. (You may need to put in your card info for a free trial blah blah blah.) You can read and disagree with the QS review here.
*Non-Skate Related Alert* The latest episode of 99% Invisible deals with abandoned buildings, squatters, riots, and everything else surrounding Tompkins Square Park in the 80s and 90s. “You got guns? We got piss buckets.” Shout to Mostly.
Quote of the Week: “The price isn’t the problem. Pryce is the problem.” — Dallas Todd
I learned frontside flips via Pryce’s Seaport line A.K.A. have never fully *flipped* one in my life. They still count in S.K.A.T.E. though ;) Thanks Pryce.
