(Photo: Seth Rosko)
Patrick Smith, owner of Coda Skateboards, built the ramp with his buddies. “It was just a temporary thing, and they were going to just throw it away, but we built it so it could be taken apart and we were hoping to donate it to somewhere longer lasting.”
The popup, at Supermarket gallery, was for Exposure Marketing and the launch of clothing line Noah, and the ramp was sponsored by Converse. “I wanted something that was useful and dynamic in the space,” said Brendon Babenzien of Noah. “To be clear, it wasn’t all about skateboarding, but that was one thing that’s influenced me, so rather than just talk about the inspiration it was like, ‘No, this is what influenced me, and this is how I grew up.'”
With the three-week-long popup now being cleared out, the bowl is set to become the newest fixture at the skate park at Beach 91st Street, which became a sort of community project after it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. “We basically build one thing a year out there, since it washed out across the street into a building,” Smith said.
The bowl is actually an excellent fit for the park because of its small scale; it falls under New York City’s height restrictions for park ramps and can accommodate skaters with a wide range of ages and skills. The only immediate potential pitfall is the deadline for moving it out of the building, which is Tuesday evening. “That’s why we’re scrambling,” said Smith, who added that once it’s taken apart, transported to the park, and reassembled, the plan is to raise money to weatherproof the structure. “If we do it right it should last about five years,” he said.
The ramp should be ready for an official induction into the park at the 9th Annual Rockstock and Barrels Festival June 27. Anyone wanting to donate money or time to saving the structure can reach out to Smith at (917) 545-7037.