culture

In Albany, skateboarding is illegal. Albany must provide a free, public, concrete skatepark for kids and adult skateboarders, as the City does for basketball, softball, tennis, soccer and other sports which are being surpassed by skateboarding in terms of popularity and participation. Albany must catch up with the times, and with all of the surrounding cities such as Boston, NYC and Washington D.C., as well as smaller cities all over Connecticut, Mass, Maine, NH, and basically everywhere in the country other than Albany. We as albany skateboarders travel to these cities, spend the night in hotels, eat at their restaurants, and shop in their stores. Why wouldn't Albany want such exposure? If you're going to make a wildly popular activity like skateboarding, illegal in the streets, then the city has to provide land and funding for a safe place to perform the activity if there is going to be a proper "Vision for 2030". Making it a destination skatepark would be ideal. The bigger it is in terms of square footage, the further away it will draw from.  There are skateboarders on the East Coast that fly across the country in search of skateparks.  Albany can draw that type of attention if it does things right.  There are 100s of skateboarders and a new skateshop on lark street ("Seasons") that are willing to lend a hand. Many of us are old enough to vote and be productive members of our community.  A free, public, concrete skatepark is vital from a cultural and entertainment standpoint in order to have a proper vision for 2030.