SARATOGA SPRINGS — Built in 1989, the East Side Recreation Skatepark is the oldest municipal skatepark in New York State. Now, more than three decades after its installation, the skatepark is finally getting a proper upgrade - something that has been lobbied to the city for nearly a decade. “It’s one of the most used facilities at East Side Rec,” said Mayor Ron Kim. In the last City Council meeting, a vote was finally pushed through to hire a concrete service, Artisan Concrete Inc., to fully renovate the park, which as of now has out-date-features and rusted metal ramps.
The goal is to make the park’s features fully concrete - the modern standard for skateparks. This will allow the features to last longer, and make for a quieter skate, something that will benefit those that live in nearby houses. The cost to the city is an estimated $405,100 for the project, according to released documents from City Hall - though an exact date on when the renovations will start still hasn’t been set. Nonetheless, it’s a start. And it’s an act of transparency from the city, which is something that organizers like Benj Gleeksman of ON DECK Saratoga (a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization under the umbrella of the Saratoga Institute) have been asking for for years. “We’re pretty stoked,” Gleeksman told Saratoga TODAY.
The renovations to the park were initially projected to cost $265,000 when the plans were first unveiled – and the city council unanimously approved the project. However, due to supply chain disruptions and the ever-rising price of materials during the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost to the city increased by $140,000. So, ON DECK took matters into their own hands. Using the power of grassroots fundraising and help from local businesses, the organization raised over $70,000 for the new skatepark – covering half of the unforeseen expenses. On June 7, 2022, the city approved the new expenses, and the project was seemingly green-lit, but it wasn’t until September 30 that the full scope of the project was approved, the contractor was named and the documents were released to public record.
It has been a long time coming for the skateboarding scene in Saratoga, and some, like Benj Gleeksman, think this will only add to the tourism the town feeds off of if the park is done right. According to Gleeksman, “[ON DECK] has been working on this for years, really since 2012, which is when we had our first skate deck show to kick off our fundraising efforts. We're super excited to get the new park. For out-of-town families whose kids participate in wheeled sports, it will offer a possible vacation destination since, it sounds almost crazy to say, but skateparks are now attractions to traveling families. For locals, it will offer much more variety for kids of all levels.” Importantly, this was all made possible through local event organizers, campaigners, businesses and families that support the local scene that worked hand-in-hand with Mayor Kim’s administration. While the exact date is not set, soon one of East Side Rec’s oldest attractions will be full of new faces, new features and new ways to continue to enjoy the sport that many in our community love.
