Breaking Ground at the Astral Fountain, Flushing Queens

Official NY Course Design Released

MALOOF MONEY CUP NY COURSE DESIGN RELEASED
START OF CONSTRUCTION SIGNALS COUNTDOWN TO FIRST-EVER MMC BIG APPLE CONTEST!
NYC Event Set for June 5-6, 2010 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens:  World-Class Skate Park to Be Built & Donated to City through Adopt-a-Park Program
(March 19, 2010, Irvine, Calif.) — The Maloof Money Cup (MMC) the worlds greatest skateboarding event co-presented by Vans  today released the design for the street course that will host the world?s best skateboarders at the 2010 Maloof Money Cup in Queens, June 5-6.  The one-of-a-kind skate park, designed by pro skateboarders, will bedonated to the City after the event through the NYC Parks & Recreation Departments Adopt-a-Park program.   

Construction of the 16,000-square-foot skate park (being constructed on top of the former Astral Fountain in Flushing Meadows Corona Park) gets underway this month, signaling that the countdown to the first-ever Maloof Money Cup New York has officially begun.  Pro skaters Chris Cole and Geoff Rowley, NY skate legend Steve Rodriguez and Joe Ciaglia, president of California Skateparks, led the design of the world-class street course. 

The Maloof Money Cup New York street course was inspired by real skate spots from each of the five boroughs, said Rodriguez.  Weve replicated and improved spots like the Ziegfeld ledge, Con Ed Banks and the Brooklyn Banks 9-stair rail.  It will no doubt be exciting to watch the MMC pros break in the course that will become the local spot for many NY skaters for years to come.
The 16,000-sqare-foot course was inspired by NY street spots within the five boroughs, such as:

Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail
Union Square rail/steps
Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs
Ziegfeld ledge
Chrystie Park ledge
Exchange Place street gap
JFK Banks
Con Ed Banks
Pyramid ledges
Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica
Various rails in public parks and the aesthetics of many of the spots in Brooklyn

We at Parks are thrilled to have this unbelievable facility.  The Maloof Money Cup at Flushing Meadows Corona Park this June is a first for New York City and our Adopt-a-Park program, said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. Flushing Meadows Corona Park currently offers tennis, soccer, swimming, ice skating, cricket, baseball and more. On top of that, it’s already the home of world-class sports facilities like the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center, and Citi Field.  Making world-class skateboarding part of it all is tremendous.

Maloof Money Cup New York June 5-6, 2010
MMC New York will feature the VOLCOM STREET PRO as well as the World Industries amateur championship.   The NY contest will offer free tickets distributed at partner outlets (seats are limited) and will also feature a 50,000-square-foot festival village hosting action sports retailers and a variety of skateboarding activities for all ages.  The NY prize purse is nearly $250,000 in cash and prizes, with $100,000 going to the winner.
New York was first on our list of expansion markets because its the headquarters for skateboarding on the East Coast and is home to some of the most iconic skate spots in the world,?said Joe Maloof.   With the Brooklyn Banks now closed for four years and the Unisphere set to close indefinitely, the timing was perfect for us to bring the Maloof Money Cup to New York City.  The skateboarding community is really phenomenal in how open and inclusive they are of everyone.  Weve always wanted to build a park that we can leave intact for everyone in the community to enjoy, and thanks to the NYC Parks & Recreation Department and support from Vans and other sponsors, we were able to make it happen.
When we heard that the Maloof Money Cup was going to include a contest in New York City and that we were going to be able to donate the park to the skaters of New York, we leapt at the opportunity to get involved, said Steve Van Doren, Vans Vice President of Events & Promotions.  Were very fortunate to have a number of great skate parks on the West Coast and were excited to work with the New York skate community to create a world-class skate park.”

About The Maloof Money Cup
Now entering its third year, the Maloof Money Cup, co-presented by Vans, will take place June 5-6 in Queens, New York and August 4-8 in Orange County, Calif.  Tickets for the 2010 Maloof Money Cup Orange County will be available soon at all Ticketmaster locations or at the OC Fair & Event Center Box Office at the Pacific Amphitheatre.  The New York event will offer free tickets (Tickets are limited and will be distributed at select partner outlets in NYC (Distribution points and schedule will be announced soon on the MMC Web site).  Join our network to share the competition experience with a global audience and be the first to know about exciting upcoming MMC news and contests.  Go to www.maloofmoneycup.com and follow us on Facebook and twitter:  @maloofmoneycup.

An enormous thanks to sponsors Joe Maloof, Vans and Volcom for putting up the funds and coming out to Queens with California Skateparks to begin work on amazing new park that will host the Maloof Money Cup June 5th & 6th.

Did you see the number of sponsers?  What?

151 Smith Street (btw Bergan and Dean, Brooklyn)

July 12th   |  1-7PM

Diversity is cool, it ups the ante, but connection is awesome.

See entire afro-punk 2009 Alubum

If there was ever a good idea, with the right leadership and philanthropically cool vibe of visionary genius, the Afro-Punk Festival 2009 in Brooklyn was it.  It is a gift to its community.

There were many events that took place, but I am really only (roughly) qualified to write about one of them.  The one that brought me to the  iconic Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in the first place, skateboarding.

Skateboarding

URBANx bATTLE FOR THE STREETS

East Coast riders showed up from all over;  North Carolina, the Jers, PA, F L A, and of course our own New York City soldiers brought the muscle.  Skaters from every sort of background battled it out in a Brooklyn style warfare; charging a board slide on the rail through hung up skateboards and oncoming skaters, they took hard digs and went head to head at out at the URBANX Battle for the streets.  Even the girls.  It was really sick.

The 5Boro Crew

Steve Rodriguez, the boss of the New York City skateboarding scene, as well as the entire 5Boro crew came out and supported the event in full force, not only by sponsoring the $5000 best trick contest, but also working the event and psyching up the kids on skateboarding.  A special shout out to consigliere Tombo, who spent so many hours manning the skatepark sign up desk this Independence day weekend with a thousand kids asking the question “What’s today’s date?”

Other sponsors such Homage Skate Shop, Nike SB, ESPN X Games, Zoo York, Shut, Vox and volunteers helped support the event Skateboarding and BMX competitions.

The Afro-Punk Festival

With 40 bands, 24 films, a live graffiti-art installation, custom built skate park, and a BMX course one would think you’d have to buy tickets or know somebody important to get in, not the case.  This community-inspired event was 100% free and I’m not just talking about the entertainment.   Mountain Dew provided free soda and water for all, Open Road and Nike SB sponsored free skateboarding clinics, 5Boro put on a barrage of free demos.  MetroPlus even helped those in need, get free Medical and Dental insurance.

It was amazing and inspirational to see so many people come together and celebrate.  Also those who supported the effort and volunteered their time to make it happen.  I know that I am not doing the event justice.  There was so much going on and so many people, that I couldn’t possibly account for every one of them.   I’m just glad I got to be there. 

See entire afro-punk 2009 Alubum