BY JACKSON CHEN | An Upper West Side neighborhood group is proposing expensive design changes to the Frederick Douglass Circle to deter the continued “abuse” from skateboarders, and their effort has now won the support of the local community board.
The circle opened in 2010 in honor of the famous African-American abolitionist. In tribute to Douglass’ career of fighting for an end to slavery through his writings, the circle is designed with a wall inscribed with quotes from him and a plaza style that is based on African-American quilt designs.
However, the plaza’s smooth ground, low-height blocks and mellow stair drops have attracted skateboarders from around the city and nearby suburbs. With a growing numbers of skaters practicing their craft in the plaza, neighbors — led by the Friends of Frederick Douglass Circle — began to complain about the dangers skateboarding could create for the circle.
Besides safety concerns, residents also noted the damage to the plaza’s design when skateboarders use wax so they can grind and slide smoothly. After repeated use, the wax stains black and the granite blocks can sometimes lose small chunks off the edge. Neighbors also complain about noise from late-night skate sessions in the circle.
But for lifelong skaters like Alex Corporan, the circle provides a sweet spot to hang out for a couple of hours.
“It’s just an attractive spot for everyone to chill out,” Corporan said, adding that the ledges and stairs were highlights for skaters. “It’s open ground and it’s a nice area to hang out.”
The Frederick Douglass Circle itself is a plaza island surrounded by the traffic roundabout that forms from the convergence of West 110th Street, Central Park West, and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
“My initial response to the skateboarders was a mother’s response: this is a dangerous place to skateboard,” said Anne Simmons, secretary of the Friends of Frederick Douglass Circle. “They end up in traffic. Either they start in traffic or they end up in traffic chasing their board.”
With many skaters riding down the wall and grinding on the granite blocks, the Friends group, appearing before Community Board 7, presented two design changes to the plaza that they now consider a “magnet of abuse” for skaters.
Simmons said the design’s texturing was proposed by Algernon Miller, the artist behind the circle’s design, and Gabriel Koren, the sculptor of the bronze Frederick Douglass.
According to the draft plans, the edges of the most frequently skated blocks would be textured in a zigzag pattern that would stop the skaters. The edge texturing of the blocks would cost approximately $4,000, according to discussions the neighborhood group had with a granite craftsman. However, the group recommended that a budget range of $2,500 to $20,000 be considered for the improvement.
Instead of the typical metal “skateboard stops” used to curb activity throughout downtown skateboarding hotspots, the Friends recommended that the texturing not compromise the character of the plaza. Additionally, they were worried that the metal stops would “entice ardent skateboarders to attempt removal… which could potentially cause irreparable damage.”
The neighborhood group’s one-two punch to deter skateboarding in the circle also includes a proposed re-texturing of the plaza’s pavement. The smooth greenish pavement would be treated with a rippled surface that would be too rough to ride on, according to the plans. While there’s no estimated cost for the surface re-texturing, the Friends also pointed to the alternative of removing the current pavement and replacing it with granite cobbles. Being a much more intensive process, the cobbling would run up a bill of $20,000 to $80,000, the according to the group’s plans.
The Friends also considered pursuing a more “whimsical texture” for the surface pavement that would match the design of the blocks and the wall within the plaza, but that the idea may be considered an artistic change that would trigger review by city agencies, according to the group’s plans.
From Corporan’s perspective, there are better uses of money and effort than preventing skateboarding on the plaza, like cleaning up the city’s litter problem. The longtime skater, whose career revolves around the sport, explained that the circle is a real gem for skateboarders because of its location and design that fosters skating “street,” instead in city-designated skate parks.
“Skate parks are cool, but it takes away from the energy of skating,” Corporan explained. “It doesn’t make it as intimate as when you skate around with your friends and find a new spot to chill out and have a good time.”
Despite concerns raised by skaters, the draft plans presented by the Friends group, which were first approved by Community Board 7’s Parks and Environment Committee, were approved by the full board on December 1, though specific costs and how they would be covered were not spelled out. According to CB7’s district manager Penny Ryan, the community board and the Friends group will continue advocating for the circle, but the next step is currently unclear.
With the fate of the circle seemingly sealed, skaters appear destined to lose what they consider a prime spot even in the winter months, Corporan said.
“Skatestopping something for no reason is just lame,” Corporan said. “They’re always trying to stop us from doing what we love.”
While the neighborhood group is glad the skateboarding problem at the circle is being addressed, Simmons said it was just one of many items in the group’s mission. Simmons said the group also focuses on tree lighting in the plaza as well as showings of the city’s traveling PuppetMobile.
“We really feel strongly that skateboarding is a good thing, but it needs to be done in a place that’s reasonably engineered for it,” Simmons said. “This is not engineered for it.”
