(L. to r.) Clint, former Community Board 1 District Manager George Delis and Dan pose in the new skate park in Astoria Park under the approach to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. Clint and Dan traveled from New Jersey to try their skateboards on the park’s cement surface.

On October 18 at 11 a.m., City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Astoria Park to welcome all comers to the new skating section. On Friday, skaters from across the city and even out of state were already using the skate park, which was installed beside the track under the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

George Delis, then Community Board 1 district manager, initiated the idea for a skate park in Astoria Park in 2005 after kids used Athens Square Park for their skateboard exploits for some time, disregarding park rules that banned skateboarding and roller skating.

“I asked kids if they would leave Athens Square Park if we built a skate park here, and they said ‘absolutely’,” he said.

Vallone and Community Board 1 put together the $1.5 million funding for the project. Skaters from all over the city are already making good use of the spot, which was once reserved for storage. Some residents were concerned about noise, but Delis pointed out that any noise the skaters do make is drowned out by the cars crossing over the bridge.

Early Friday afternoon a significant number of young adult skaters came to the park while children were in school.

“If this many people are here now, there are going to be a lot of people here on the weekends,” Delis said. On Saturday, Delis confirmed that Athens Square Park was empty of skaters while the Astoria Park facility was crowded with them.

Dan and Clint, two of the skaters using the park on Friday, traveled from New Jersey to Astoria to skate on cement because the parks in New Jersey are all made of wood.

“This is all cement,” Dan said. “This is the real stuff you would find in a city or suburban landscape.”

The park includes a spacious skating area, complete with sloped sides, grinding rails and a center structure for more advanced stunts. There are several entrances to prevent congestion and more isolated spaces for younger skaters. According to Delis, the park is an exact copy of a skate park in England.

“This is one of the best skate parks in the city,” Delis said. “I’d like to thank Peter Vallone and the community board for making this possible.”

While skating is now encouraged in Astoria Park, Delis hopes to install signs that forbid bike riding in the area to prevent injuries.

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