After the Parks Department gleefully destroyed Staten Island's Benjamin Soto Skate Park in front of skaters and bikers, citizens took to their community board meeting last night to protest the demolition, which the Parks Department justified by claiming that it was in "disrepair" and "dangerous to the children." Even so, what could possibly be more dangerous than a group of bored teenagers holding wooden boards affixed with heavy, metallic, bludgeoning-axles?
One resident spoke of how the park was "really a place where children can stay off the streets, off drugs and out of trouble." Another complained that the kids "have been tossed in the street with no where to go." But local orthopedic surgeons shouldn't cancel their Cabo time shares just yet: there are already plans to revamp the park with "modern streetscape elements." Until then, there are plenty of places these bikers and skateboarders can go to shred the gnar, like Columbus Circle! Take a look at a video of the skaters strutting their stuff before the man shut them down.
