By next fall, work on the new skate facility for Canarsie Park should be underway.
The project is “part of a larger $1.8 million renovation of the playground,” at the western end of the park near the cricket field. It is being funded with $1.2 million from Councilmember Lewis Fidler and $600,000 from Borough President Marty Markowitz, according to Phil Abramson, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation.
“The proposed skate park,” said Abramson, “will offer an exciting skating experience with an obstacle course/path meandering through the existing trees and going into a large central skating area.”The project is “currently in design,” Abramson added.
The design of the facility has been subject to a collaborative process, said Abramson, who explained that the agency has met on several occasion, “with community youth skaters who contributed extensive input into the design.”
The result, said Abramson, isa design that “features plaza-style skating and multiple levels of challenges for every skill level …set into a landscape taking advantage of the beautiful natural environment of the park.”Because the units are all under 36” drop height, no staffing is required, he added.
The skate park, when completed, will be “really, really great,” enthused Lenny Fogel, the vice president of the United Canarsie South Civic Association (UCSCA) during that group’s October meeting, which was held at the Hebrew Educational Society, 9502 Seaview Avenue.
“The kids are thrilled,” Fogel added, stressing that the facility has long been “needed. It’s going to get a lot of kids off the street,” he predicted.
Fidler, too, said he was extremely excited about the skate park. “When I was growing up, the idea of a skate park was absurd,” he noted, “You skated on the street. But, that’s the park now that teenagers want to see. There are only three or four in Brooklyn, The park has to be for everybody This is going to be one of the things for teens.”
The skate park is being designed by landscape architect Stacia Tull with the assistance of Jason Baldessari of Spohn Ranch Skate Parks in California.
Canarsie Park is located south of Seaview Avenue, between Paerdegat Avenue North and Canarsie Road.
