Tompkins Square Park Turf War Escalates As Skaters Plan Rally

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Skateboarders' fight to save an asphalt lot from becoming astroturf is heating up.

The man behind a petition to stop the Parks Department from turning an asphalt lot into synthetic turf is planning a rally next weekend, according to an Instagram post.

"For generations, Tompkins has been a safe haven for skateboarders and other marginalized activities," skateboarder Adam Zhu wrote on Instagram. "It serves as a melting pot for all walks of life and is an integral part of our identity as as neighborhood and community."

The city is planning to replace the asphalt lot with astroturf as it scrambles to mitigate neighborhood open space needs during a 3.5-year closure of East River Park. The park closure is a part of a sweeping flood protection plan aimed at preventing devastation from future storm surges and coastal flooding that city officials have said is necessary to protect the neighborhood.

Zhu posted on social media that the rally is planned for Saturday, September 7 at 1 p.m. in the northwest corner of the park, where the storied lot is located.

"We continue to consider the skateboarder’s interests as we review the matter," department spokesperson Crystal Howard told Patch Thursday. But, the proposal to turn the lot into astroturf remains, she said.

View this post on Instagram

RALLY TO SAVE TOMPKINS For generations, Tompkins has been a safe haven for skateboarders and other marginalized activities. It serves as a melting pot for all walks of life and is an integral part of our identity as a neighborhood and community. The city now plans to install AstroTurf there to prioritize permitted sports, which will destroy the way our community has utilized this park for decades. Please join me on Saturday September seventh in the north west corner of the park to show the city what this park means to us! • 1PM • Please repost and share this. I also encourage you to take ownership of this cause. Make your own flyers with the same info! Print them and paste them up everywhere! Get business owners involved! Anything is helpful! Let’s let them know we aren’t budging on this issue and we are here to stay! #savetompkins
A post shared by Adam Zhu (@z.h.u1) on Aug 28, 2019 at 9:48am PDT

More than 30,000 have signed Zhu's petition launched earlier this summer, which is directed to the Parks Department, Parks officials Mitchell Silver and Crystal Howard, and Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

The lot is not technically a skate park, but a training ground for skateboarders improving their skills and as a meet-up spot, Patch previously reported.

"All of my friends that I made through skateboarding in those first couple years were people I met at Tompkins. ... It rekindled a love of skateboarding and just became a deeply important place to me," skateboarder Ted Barrow previously told Patch.