Even the youngest residents of Greenport pitched in to make Sunday’s Skate Park Festival a success.
One little boy, Jack Murray, 10, had a yard sale and donated all of his proceeds, $100, to the park, his mother Theresa Ward told Village Deputy Mayor George Hubbard.
Greenport Village Mayor David Nyce commended Hubbard on his efforts to spruce up the facility and on a successful event.
“We had a good time,” Hubbard said. “We all enjoyed it.” Hubbard thanked all involved who came together to ensure the park was ready in time for Sunday and those who donated food, supplies, and other services.
Altogether, $594 was raised; Hubbard said the funds will “go back” into the skate park.
The event brought out a good crowd, with no injuries and no problems, Hubbard said; 250 hot dogs, 175 hamburgers, and 20 casesof water and Gatorade were served, free of charge. Five bands played; social media was utilized to help bring kids to the event, Hubbard said, some from as far away as Bellport.
Kids told Hubbard, as well as Beau Pollock, 21, and Andrew Semon, two young skaters who worked tirelessly to spruce up the park, that the event should be held every month.
Hubbard said a similar event could be on the agenda for next year.
“I had several conversations with the young people, all of whom said they do believe the more ownership kids take over the park, the better it will be, with less vandalism,” Nyce said.
“It is truly amazing to watch as the future of Greenport come together on a project. This event is a ‘home grown effort,'” said Trustee Mary Bess Phillips. “To observe the re-creation of the thrill this skateboarding group had as young users of this facility being re-created for another generation of youth is a true example of hometown pride.”
Nyce agreed, commending the efforts of Pollock and Semon.
“They came to us and told us they wanted to make this happen,” Nyce said. “”It’s cool to see young people want to take over this festival. In the past, they’ve had their ideas of bands, and how the contest should go. It’s neat to see. That’s what was supposed to come out of this. It’s nice to see it grow into that.”
Pollock said he was thrilled to see the repaved park, and to know that the village was willing to work together with them to give the facility a makeover.
Semon agreed. “This is just great,” he said. “Look at all the kids that are here.”
The entire park, said Trustee George Hubbard, was finished just in time for the Greenport Skate Park festival, which took on Sunday on Moores Lane.
This year, the event was more of a “family day,” Hubbard said. “Not a true competition.” Instead, lessons were given by older kids to younger skaters, with a full lineup of bands performing.
The event also included food, raffles and giveaways for best trick, most creative trick, highest ollie, best trick on transition, best flatground trick, a game of skate and more.
With an eye toward cleaning up the park, one jump that was not often used and has deteriorated was revamped; the hand rails were removed and used to make something smaller for a skateboard, Hubbard said.
Pollack, who said he’s been coming to the park said he was five years old, is a Greenport “local.”
Putting so much time into a park that means so much to him and his friends “feels good,” Pollock said, adding that the work was a labor of love. “The park needed maintenance,” he said.
The new improvements, he said, will go a long way toward young people’s enjoyment of the facility. “I’ve always had a good time here. My friends and I have always had a blast, and we still utilize this place every day,” he said. “I was just rolling around on the new asphalt myself — it’s awesome.”
Skateboarding at the park, he said, has shaped the young man he’s become, Pollock said. “Skating turns me into a completely different person,” he said. “It’s awesome. It keeps me out of trouble.”
A sponsored skateboarder, Pollock gets new gear every month to promote.
Skateboarding, he said, never gets old. “It always makes me giggle, learning how to do a new trick,” he said.
Both Hubbard and Pollock thanked all the local businesses, as well as the Greenport Fire Department and Peconic Landing, for donations that made the event possible.
