SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City of Saratoga Springs celebrated new renovations to the East Side Recreation Skatepark on Thursday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking improvements to the park.
The park has been updated with concrete, replacing the former metal ramps. It features a concrete bowl, mini-ramp, manual pads, ledges, flat bars, and more, said Brad Siedlecki of Pillar Design, who designed the park.
Benj Gleeksman, vice president of local nonprofit ON DECK Saratoga, said it was “amazing” to see skaters at the upgraded park on Thursday.
“Just to finally see it done, I don’t know how to describe it. I’m so excited,” said Gleeksman. “But the thing that I’m most excited about is seeing how happy it makes other people. I love skating it, but I love sitting on the bench and just watching kids enjoy it.”
The renovations were priced at just under $446,000, according to a presentation by John Hirliman, the city’s Administrative Director of Recreation. ON DECK Saratoga raised and contributed roughly $70,000 to the project through fundraising and support from the local community.
The park was constructed by Artisan Skateparks. While speaking to those in attendance, Gleeksman noted that the park features pink and brown colors, in a nod to the Silly Pink Bunnies, which he said is an international skateboard community that began at the East Side Rec skatepark in the early 1990s.
“So it’s been over 30 years of Silly Pink Bunnies. They started here,” said Gleeksman to those in attendance. “There’s hundreds of them skateboarding all around the world.”
He offered thanks to Siedlecki and Pillar Design, and to Artisan, who he said completed the park’s construction a month ahead of schedule.
Belinda Colón, president of ON DECK and Gleeksman’s wife, thanked the Saratoga Springs City School District, which owns the property, as well as the Mayor’s Office, City Council, the Saratoga Institute, Spring Street Gallery, and the local artist community.
Gleeksman offered thanks to local businesses such as Stewart’s Shops, Darling Doughnuts, and Death Wish Coffee, who he said provided $25,000 of matching donations.
He also thanked Scotia-based Town and Country Skateboards and Albany-based Seasons Skate Shop, as well as Fran Love-Aveta, who ran Jah Skate Shop on Caroline Street and was in attendance at Thursday’s ribbon-cutting.
Hirliman offered thanks to ON DECK, the school district, and to the City Department of Public Works, who demolished the former metal bowl. He said it was “great to see” skaters enjoying the updated park.
“It’s pretty surreal,” said Hirliman. “It’s amazing to see it completed, and see how many kids are skating right now.”
Gleeksman said construction took roughly two months to complete. He noted that ON DECK held numerous events to help raise awareness and funds for the skatepark.
“As the fundraising started to gain momentum, we started to grab the attention of the business community,” said Gleeksman. “Darling Doughnuts stepped up, Smashburger stepped up, Death Wish stepped up huge.”
He noted it was meaningful to see the support from the local community, saying that to him, the skatepark is “more than just a place to come and go skate.”
Gleeksman said the park can attract tourism, and also hopes it will inspire other local communities to follow Saratoga Springs’ lead.
Andrew Cecala, a local skater who said he has been coming to the park for 20 years, noted the updated park is “very smooth.”
“I’m ecstatic,” said Cecala. “It’s like having a skatepark in your backyard. It’s awesome.”
20-year-old skater Reymond Garcia said it was “really exciting” to see people of all ages enjoying the park.
“The renovation just brought everybody,” Garcia said. “It makes me so happy to see, because there’s just all ages here. … It’s what you want to see out here. It’s really exciting.”
