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Ground broken on new outdoor city skate park

city of Rochester

Officials broke ground Wednesday on Rochester's first outdoor skate park. It's part of the ROC the Riverway project, and is located under the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Bridge.

Mayor Lovely Warren says the $1.5 million ROC City Skate Park will bring a new dimension of fun and excitement to downtown. She says many partners made the project possible, including RG&E, New York State, and the Tony Hawk Foundation, which provided a $250,000 grant for the skate park.

“Everyone at the Tony Hawk Foundation is ready to see this happen,” said Trevor Staples from the Tony Hawk Foundation. “We’re super proud of the city and the Friends of Rochester City Skate Park, in their tireless activism to make this happen.

Staples says his group looks forward to seeing the skate park become a key feature of the Rochester riverfront transformation.

ROC City Skate Park Coalition Board President James Maddison said he promised his children that he'd build them a skate park, and with many partners working together, they delivered.

“Despite having to work through challenges and overcome obstacles, they are building a skate park because they promised the children of Rochester they would build a skate park,” Maddison said. “And there's no better reason, no more important or better reason, to build a skate park.”

The skate park is one of 30 ROC the Riverway projects.

Mayor Lovely Warren says there are many benefits to having a skate park in Rochester:

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Skaters already trying out the skate park – some more successfully than others:

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