VIDEO: From the Sidecar
Skate Spot opens in downtown Miami
Brad Knoefler brings us another downtown story From the Sidecar. In this latest adventure, Brad and his trusted companion in the sidecar, New World School of the Arts student Alec Kreisberg, made their way to the opening of Skate Spot at Grand Central Park, the only legal place to skateboard outdoors in Downtown Miami.
The D-I-Y facility is still bare-bones, but the Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association (OPRA) put the $20,000 it budgeted for the project to good use; installing donated benches from Miami Dade College for skate fixtures, purchasing a steel rail and using the bulk of the funds for 15,000 square feet of new black-top.
The Skate Spot at Grand Central Park was paid for by donations from Knoefler and the Sandra E. James Foundation. OPRA promises to continue to improve the Skate Spot with more amenities as the local skate community adopts the space.
“The skate community needs to own this space,” says Mark Lesniak, executive director of OPRA. “We provided a skeleton and it’s up to them to do the rest. For now, it’s a legal and safe place to skate.”
