Know your skateboarding rights.

Avoid Altercations with Police and Pedestrians by being well informed.

I’m extremely courteous when I skate in the sidewalks because I really do believe in the karma thing, plus what kind of instructor would I be, right?  Sometimes people pick fights, they can’t help themselves and skaters are often targeted because of the perception some people have that we have no control over.

One afternoon I was walking up 1st Ave for eight blocks, but then on my one favorite patch of super smooth sidewalk between 80th and 81st, I stepped on my board, rolled super slow for about 20 feet of a half empty block and stopped in front of the closed dry cleaners to dig in my bag for my cell phone. 

Before I found it I was approached by an oncoming pedistrian.  She was no where near me for the brief ride, but she was angry and she was looking to pick a fight.  I’m not sure why she picked me, out of all the skaters in the world, maybe it was just opportunity.  Maybe she was having a bad day, but this was obviously a woman who was ready to make a scene, I could see it before she even opened her mouth.

"Excuse me but are you aware of the city public ordinances about skating on the side walk?" She asked me, wagging her finger.

"Actually, I am quite aware of them because I’m an instructor for a skateboarding school and part of our curriculum is to teach the city laws."  My perfectly calm response just seemed to make her more angry and it was that moment that I actually understood WHY it’s important for all skaters to know their rights and what is expected of them.

The woman’s voice got much louder now and I could see pedestrians slowing down to see what was going on "But you are over fourteen aren’t you?!  You should be skating in the street.  That’s the law!"  She said this drammatically pointing to the horribly potholed 1st avenue.

Now I know this sounds one sided, but I should mention that this is my neighborhood and I don’t believe its neccessary to be hostile if you are well informed.

"I am over 14 (WAY over) and I believe you misunderstood the law.  14 year olds are not allowed to skate in the street or without protective equipment.  Now I don’t know if you’d tell your 15 year old grandson that he had to go skate in the street, but if you did you would putting him in danger and you’d be wrong.  It is illeagal to skate recklessly on the sidewalks, in a way that is an endangerment to pedestrians. "

"Oh." she was dumbfounded.  Man I’m glad I looked that up. 

So is the excerpt from from NYCSK8.com

New York City Law

In spring 1996, the city council passed Local Law 1996/043, making it illegal to skate recklessly, this being defined as skating in a fashion such as to threaten the health or possessions of another person. The fine is $50 to $100. (The law was signed by Mayor Giuliani in mid-June and went into effect in August 1996.) The law is on the books as:

New York City Administrative Code S 19-176.1

The reckless skating law was a compromise version of a proposal which originally included a ban on skating on the sidewalks by any person over age 14. Happily for skaters, that provision was removed. Nevertheless, city and state politicians have been known to advocate such a ban, including laws proposed in the state legislature. Skaters are thus enouraged to keep their heads screwed on and to skate no faster than a walking pace while on the sidewalk, lest there be an incident which would provide fuel for hostile politicians.

Preliminary signs seemed to indicate that the police would active enforce the reckless skating law, along with the various state skating laws. Among these signs was a spate of reports of skaters being stopped by police in early August 1996 (including the author of this skate guide) and given warnings that something that they had just done would in the near future warrant a ticket. However, since that date, the only known consistent effort by NYPD to enforce skating laws was during August 1998, when they patrolled Central Park on the weekends, looking for violations of the reckless skating law.

But this isn’t to say that the police will always ignore your skating infractions. There have been periodic police crackdowns on illegal cycling, usually at the precinct level and occasionally borough- or city-wide. All it takes is a city councilmember who’s been receiving complaints from his constituents, or just an irritated police precinct commander, to result in the police getting busy and giving offending skaters lots and lots of tickets. So skate legally as much as possible, be courteous to all pedestrians, and things should be cool.

On Sep. 16, 1996, the city council held a hearing for discussion of three proposed Local Laws (aka "Intros") which would affect cyclists and skaters. In particular, Int. 0844-1996 would have required that all inline skaters in the city to wear helmets. The proposed law was the immediate result of the death of a skater in Central Park the previous month after a collision with a cyclist. Although there were rumors that Int. 844 had passed, the city council website would seem to indicate that it did not.

A couple other Intros which were proposed to the city council but which also never passed were Int. 1042-1997, which would have made it illegal to be using earphones while skating or cycling, and Int. 0631-1999, which duplicated the state’s existing requirement for reflective clothing when skating after dark.