Tompkins ‘turf
war’ is over;
From NorthEast to Far East ‘Skaters’ stay
BY GABE HERMAN
It turns out the
skateboarding
will continue in
Tompkins Square
Park after all.
The Parks Department
announced Fri.,
Sept. 6, that it would
not — as previously
planned — lay synthetic
turf over part
of the East Village
park that has been
used for decades as
a spot for local skaters
.T
he news came
hours before a
planned rally that
Saturday, part of the
ongoing effort locally
and online to stop
PHOTO BY CLAYTON PATTERSON
the Parks plan.
The Tompkins turf
project was part of
Parks’ efforts to add
more green space to
several local parks to
compensate for East
River Park closing
for three-plus years as part of the upcoming East Side
Coastal Resiliency Project for fl ood protection.
Tompkins was one of fi ve sites slated by Parks for
new synthetic turf to accommodate baseball and soccer
Adam Zhu, 22, grew up
on 12th St. and has been
skateboarding in Tompkins
Square Park since age 12.
He works for Supreme, the
skateboarding shop and
clothing brand.
players, particularly in youth leagues, displaced
from East River Park.
“Tompkins Square Park has served as the epicenter
of NYC skateboard culture for decades,” a Parks
spokesperson said. “As such, we have decided to leave
the area previously proposed for synthetic in the park
as is, and will not move forward with creating a synthetic
turf area there.
“We remain committed to supporting the hundreds
of children who play baseball and soccer on the East
River Park fi elds when the park is closed for reconstruction,
and will identify a location to replace our
initial selection of Tompkins Square Park to ensure
that fi ve sites will receive synthetic turf fi elds where
local youth can play,” the spokesperson added.
The synthetic turf was scheduled to be installed at
Tompkins next spring. The other four sites slated for
turf are Tanahey Playground and LaGuardia Bathhouse,
both on the Lower East Side, scheduled for
this fall, and St. Vartan Park and Robert Moses Playground,
both in Murray Hill, slated for next spring.
A big part of the Tompkins protest was an online petition
started by local skater Adam Zhu. The change.
org petition collected more than 32,000 signatures.
After Parks decided not to turf the Tompkins site, Zhu
posted a celebratory statement on Instagram.
“WE WON,” he wrote. “It’s not a coincidence they
made the decision the day before the rally. We organized,
made our voices heard, and made a difference.”
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