Shred Betties | Ornery Angel | WTF - No Snowboarding in New York City?

WTF - No Snowboarding in New York City?

This video on humanitysnow.com starts on an uplifting note; Brooklyn snowboarder Brian “Deka” Paupaw takes advantage of the big East Coast snowfall to show some kids from the projects the joys of snowboarding… until the Park Rangers show up. Watch it for the story:

BLKOPS-122009-loRes from jsjcreative on Vimeo.

This WTF pretty much speaks for itself. I mean, I had no idea NYC had park rangers in the funny hats like you expect see out here in the forest (and out in the forest, park rangers just wear baseball caps).

Oh yeah, and the no snowboarding in NYC parks thing. Is that really a law, or did they just make it up? And if it is a law, is there a sign posted to that effect? If they are to reasonably expect people to refrain from snowboarding on public property, there should be some kind of public notice. Like a picture of a super rad stick figure shredder with an X through it. Also, I understand that they’d take the trash can away, but does this “no snowboarding” law really go into enough detail to forbid the building of a tiny jump?

I guess I could do some research into this, but it seems like a lot of work.

Anyway, way to destroy the joy of dozens of little poor kids, park rangers! In case you’re reading this, I found a picture of this adorable little boy. I bet he wanted to hit the jump, and you destroyed it and made him cry. Yeah, feeling guilty now, aren’t you? And people wonder why inner city kids grow up with no respect for park ranger authority

From http://radcollector.com/columns/brianpaupaw/2009/12/29/blk-ops-session-fort-greene-park/

For updates on the petition to make snowboarding legal in New York City Parks, and efforts to get inner city kids out snowboarding, check out Brian Paupaw’s blog: http://radcollector.com/columns/brianpaupaw/

Posted by Kelly Vance on 12/30

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COMMENTS

Shred Love

I agree with you, if its illegal to snowboard in a public park, why isn’t there a sign? In the video, one of the rangers said they would turn a blind eye to the snowboarding but not the ramp, I wonder why?

Guess I should educate myself on this as well.

Thanks Shred Betties!

Dec 30, 2009 at 12:24

Hector

Well,I think they are concerned with damage to park property, but mainly a big boost to their ego. I live in brooklyn and I can understand them not allowing bikers or skaters because they actually damage stuff (yes grinding ultimately breaks things) On the other hand we can’t use any of the park property for snowboarding, because…well, our stuff will break, our bases will get messed up, etc.

The law is pretty vague anyway, so I guess we could stand to it and fight for the right to shred the park. After all, that’s what we pay taxes for.

Dec 30, 2009 at 02:18

Diana

I understand the liability of it all..but Shred Betties girls just did a rail jam in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City! Black Ops , you work on the laws and Shred Betties will help bring the sickest jib fest to the brooklyn park you’ve ever seen!. Lots of programs including Burtons Chill program that would be happy to show the kids fun with gear and everything. When are the authority figures of the world gonna recognize that certain things like snowboarding are an asset to kids these days, if these park rangers are willing to “look the other way” on one thing and not the other, then the “laws” must not be that set in stone. I grew up on the east coast and there was never any fun to be had in the city..when I found snowboarding in my twenties it changed my life…why not change these kids lives in a positive way now so they don’t have to spend their childhoods trying to find some fun, what a waste of the fluffy white stuff! I bet with a little elbow grease and folks working together , next time you guys get a good snowfall you can show the kids of brooklyn(and adults) that snowboarding is the way to let loose without damage to the parks! you let me know if there is anything I can do-Diana (shred betties team manager)diana@shredbetties.com

Dec 30, 2009 at 09:05

DearTragedy

these poor kids were just trying to have a good time…snowboarders get such a bad wrap

Dec 31, 2009 at 08:08

rita.manna

Yeah, its totally dumb- but i see where they are coming from. For example, the organized rail jam in Union Square is okay, but a free shred shred sess in Prospect Park could potentially destroy some of the extremely well manicured park property. A friend of mine was a Park Ranger in BK last summer- made beans for cash and claimed that they were horribly disorganized. So I’d have to agree, this was most likely just a ego-boost for rangers and I doubt that there is actually an official rule against snowboarding in the park.

Since we’re on the subject of destroying public parks in Brooklyn, dare I mention the bidding of Woodstock 3 to be held in Prospect Park? If they are looking to have a multi-day musical extravganza like that go down, then who cares about a hand-rail or two getting some scratches on it? Lets keep it in perspective people!

Jan 06, 2010 at 02:33

Pam

Haha, I hope with all this snow they are back out there again!!

Feb 12, 2010 at 07:41

MarlaBates

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Mar 10, 2010 at 09:10

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