Brooklyn Banks is the unofficial name for the area under the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The banks are a renowned New York City skate spot, popular among skateboarders and BMXers for the unique brick banked surfaces that give the spot its name, and other skateable features such as benches, pillars, ledges, stairs, and handrails. [1] [2]
The banks have been referred to as “New York City’s most famous skateboarding spot” and “the Mecca of New York skateboarding” by the New York Times. [3]
The skateboarding community has rallied to save the banks from destruction on multiple occasions. [1] [4]
Originally an area used for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the banks abut large vaults under the bridge’s anchorage that had been used as wine cellars in the 19th century [5] and a Cold War era bunker to store emergency survival supplies in the case of a nuclear attack. [6]
After the removal of trolley lines from the bridge in the 1950, [7] land was cleared for additional exit ramps for cars to be constructed on the Manhattan end. In 1972, the space under the ramp supports was reclaimed as part of the larger 1 Police Plaza development project. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern independently declared the area a park by installing a wooden sign that read “Red Brick Park.” [3] [8]
The distinctive wavelike banked surfaces were designed by landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, [9] [10] who later said of his design “it was not with the intent of creating a recreational area… but it’s interesting that it became that. What is fascinating to me is how we interpret our environment, how we use our imagination to do things, involve ourselves in activities that were not intended.” [11]
From the mid-1980s onward, significantly before any skateparks were built in New York City, the Brooklyn Banks provided one of the only banked skateable areas in the city. [12] [13] [14] The banks remained a major meet up spot for Downtown skateboarders for the next two decades. [4] [11]
In 2001, the September 11 attacks on the nearby World Trade Center caused access to the banks to be temporarily shut down, [15] although skaters were allowed to return almost immediately, even when the area remained closed to others. [16] The city soon started using the area for weekday parking, limiting the usable hours for skateboarding. [2]
New York City began renovations on the spot in 2004, destroying the little banks in the process, and planning to turn the area into a green park. Skateboarder and community organizer Steve Rodriguez successfully organized skateboarders to lobby the New York City to save the larger banks for skateboarding in 2005. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation agreed on a redesign for the area would result in what Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe deemed a "skateboard-friendly park.” [4] [8] [10]
Five years later, in 2010, New York City turned the space into storage for a major restoration and repair project for the bridge. This effectively closed the area skateboarders had used for over twenty years. [1] [8] [17] In 2016, a petition to re-open the banks was circulated with 21,718 signatures collected. [18]
In 2020, after the New York City Department of Transportation removed all the bricks from the flat ground area, the skateboard community feared the big banks themselves would be next. [19] [20] Over the next three years, a new petition to reopen the banks to skateboarding gathered over 53,000 signatures. [3]
With the organizing and lobbying of Rodriguez once again, the park was partially reopened on May 24, 2023, the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, as part of a planned redesign that would specifically keep skateboarding in mind, rebuild the small banks, and reopen the big banks. [21] [22]
Due to their fame, virtual versions of the Brooklyn Banks have appeared in several skateboarding video games including Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, [23] Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, [24] Tony Hawk’s Underground, [25] and Session: Skate Sim. [26]
Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams.
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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is a 2000 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the second installment in the Tony Hawk's series of sports games and was released for the PlayStation in 2000, with subsequent ports to Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color, and Dreamcast the same year. In 2001, the game was ported to the Mac OS, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, and Xbox. The game was later ported to Windows Mobile and Windows Phone devices in 2006 and to iOS devices in 2010.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a 2001 skateboarding video game and the third installment in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label in 2001 for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color and GameCube. In 2002, it was published for the Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and the Nintendo 64. It was the final official release for the Nintendo 64, the first game released for the PlayStation 2 supporting online play and was a launch title for the GameCube in North America.
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is a 2004 skateboarding video game, the sixth entry in the Tony Hawk's series after Tony Hawk's Underground. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision on October 4, 2004 in the U.S. for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance platforms. The PlayStation Portable version was released in March 15 the following year, renamed Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix, which includes extra levels and characters.
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Tony Hawk's is a skateboarding video game series published by Activision and endorsed by the American professional skateboarder of the same name. The series was primarily developed for home consoles by Neversoft with an annual release schedule from launch to 2007, until Activision transferred the franchise to Robomodo in 2008, who developed the franchise on a non-annual release basis until 2015 when Activision and Hawk's license expired, leaving the future of the series uncertain. In 2020, the series returned under Activision with a remake of the original two games in the series, with development handled by Vicarious Visions. The series has spawned a total of 20 games.
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Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix is a skateboarding video game in the Tony Hawk's series. The game, developed by Neversoft and Shaba Games and published by Activision, was released on March 24, 2005, as a launch title for the PlayStation Portable. Primarily a port of its console counterpart, the game featured a different progression, with four exclusive levels, exclusive characters, and new cutscenes. "Create-a-Park" was notably absent in the game, with some graphics and other aspects toned-down from the console version.
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Steve Rodriguez is a goofy-footed American skateboarder, skate company owner, skatepark designer, community organizer, and creative services director, who lives and skates in NYC. Rodriguez is a leader in the effort to restore the iconic New York City skate spot: the Brooklyn Banks, a place where Rodriguez spent much time skateboarding. Until it closed for construction in 2010, Rodriguez hosted skate contests at the Banks.
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I got off of the subway only to find that the banks were behind the fences in that initial cordoned-off post-9/11 downtown zone