Why the skateboarding kids are really all right.
When skateboarders roll through town, they look at everything differently than you and I would. They see a park bench on a sidewalk or step with an iron handrail and all they can think is, “Could I skate that? Could I grind it? Is it makeable?”
Many of the kids that skateboard in the Hamptons take it up because they don’t like the usual team sports. “Lots of kids get rejected from teams,” says George Williams, a skateboarding instructor with the Flying Point Surf School. With skateboarding, it’s just you and your board. You’re on your own. But that’s not to say that skateboarders aren’t a tightknit group. “We’re definitely a more the merrier type of group because it’s cool to watch someone new do tricks,” says Jake Alegria.
“He’s not stealing our wave; we don’t argue like surfers and we aren’t territorial. There’s plenty of time for everyone to do their thing.”
Skateboarders tend to hang in packs out here partially because they feel beaten down. There’s no skateboarding anywhere in town. Mark Zucchero, who owns the area’s six Flying Point Surf & Sport shops, says skateboarders get stigmatized as derelicts for no reason. “The cops sometimes go after them in the parking lots like they just found John Dillinger,” he says. “Most of them are good kids though. I know them well because I have to carry 20 brands of each bearing, truck and deck. Each kid is so particular about what they want.”
My 10-year-old, Jack, has seen the skateboarding light. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that he’s completely obsessed with the sport. To help him feed his passion, I signed him up for dozens of lessons through the Flying Point Surf School. To see these guys support my kid, who happens to despise the pressure of team sports, and welcome him into their crew assured me that none of them were derelicts. Far from it. The smile on Jack’s face made me want all of them to move right into my home for good. “Mom,” said Jack upon hearing the proposal, “that would be sick.”
Sidebar: Boarding Bound
Skate parks that are ready to roll.
- East Hampton Skate Park: 16 Abrahams Path, East Hampton. Summer: daylight hours. School year: 2 PM-dusk.
- Montauk City Skate Park: South Essex Street, Montauk. Daily 10 AM-dusk.
- North Sea Skate Park: 1370A Majors Path, Southampton. Daily 10 AM-dusk.
- Red Creek Skate Park: 102 Old Riverhead Road, Hampton Bays. September-June: Monday and Wednesday-Friday 3-7 PM; Saturday-Sunday noon-7 PM. July-August: daily noon-8 PM.
- The Town of Riverhead Skate Park: Stotzky Park, 101 Pulaski St., Riverhead, 208-3826. June 29-September 6: daily 2-10 PM.
