New Brunswick's Recreation Park Hosts Top Skateboarders

It seems as though New Brunswick has always been a bit of a hotbed for skateboarding, even to the point that world-class skaters Ishod Wair and James Pitonyak would come here as kids and skate around the back of the recently razed Sears on Route 1.

So that makes today’s (Saturday, April 1) skating event at Recreation Park at 7 Pine St. a sort of homecoming for Wair and Pitonyak.

They will be joined by an all-star cast of pro skateboarders for a free demonstration from 2-3 p.m.

Kids of all ages are invited to bring their skateboards and join Wair, who was once voted Thrasher magazine’s skater of the year, and the others.

There will also be music and snacks courtesy of Jersey Mike’s Subs and Grillo’s Pickles.

Although many sponsors have thrown their weight behind it, NJ Skateshop owners Chris Nieratko and Steve Leonardo have been the driving forces behind the day of skateboarding that starts at noon when 100 preregistered children (50 from Lincoln School and 50 from the city’s Recreation Department programs) will get free skateboards, helmets, and sneakers from Nike SB.

“We always see kids playing out there from Lincoln School and we’ve always wanted to work with them,” said Nieratko, who has a clear view of the school from his shop at 160 Easton Ave. “So, we reached out to the city and that’s how this event came to be. We were like, ‘We want to do a giveback.’”

The event is a collaborative effort between the Department of Human and Community Services and the Recreation Department.

Keith Jones II, the director of the Department of Human and Community Services, said today’s event will also be a springboard for the city’s ongoing youth skateboard program that will be run through the Recreation Department.

An instructor will be provided through the funding for today’s event to host a series of skateboarding classes for New Brunswick kids this spring.

“This is to show that, number one, skateboarding is fun,” Jones said. “But, also, number two, we get to showcase this resource, this skate park, that we have right here in our city.”

The city is also planning to install a skate facility inside Alice Jennings Archibald Park at 23 Van Dyke Ave.

That’s great, said Nieratko, because skating is great exercise and the skateboard culture is highly inclusive. Trying to master a skateboard teaches lessons in persistence and resiliency.

“When you step on that thing, it isn’t easy,” Nieratko said. “So, if you stick with it, you’ll probably fall a lot. You’ll probably fall hundreds of times just trying to learn one trick. But if you get up a hundred times, you’ll eventually land it. That’s a life lesson you can take into anything, to conquer anything that stands in your way and not let anything stop you.”

By: Chuck O'Donnell
Photo Credit: Chris Nieratko