Group skateboarding lessons raise money for Greenport Skate Park

On August 31 the Greenport Skate Park hosted its first-ever group skateboarding lesson for kids. Organized by Daniel Berkowitz of How To Skateboards and Rena Wilhelm, president of Greenport Skate Park Inc., the event continues a collaboration intended to raise money for the renovations the park needs to bring it up to modern standards. Another group skate lesson is coming up on Saturday, October 5.

The lesson began with Mr. Berkowitz assessing the skill levels of each participant, most of whom were beginners. Over the course of two hours, these young skaters, aged 5 to 12, learned skateboarding fundamentals, including techniques to improve balance and coordination. The atmosphere was one of encouragement and enthusiasm as the children quickly gained confidence on their boards.

“The whole goal of the lesson was to make sure everyone has their fundamentals down, and then from there [to make sure] people are feeling comfortable doing different things, tailoring the lessons to everyone’s different skill level. So yeah, everyone had a lot of fun. That was the most important thing, not making people do something they didn’t want to do or were not comfortable doing. Really just adapting to each kid and tailoring the lesson to the experience they wanted to have,” Mr. Berkowitz said.

Besides giving lessons, Mr. Berkowitz has a personal connection to the skate park. When he picked up skateboarding for the first time in his early teens, he didn’t have the patience to put in the work to progress, but during COVID at his parent’s home with nothing but time on his hands, he took the opportunity to advance his technique. He fell back in love with the sport, largely thanks to the facilities at the Greenport Skate Park. 

“That park has always meant a lot to me. Whenever I visit my parents in Southold, like I always make sure to come out there. I always skate that park,” Mr. Berkowitz said. “They’re the only park that I’ve really been in close communication with on anything like this. So [I’m] just trying to help them out as much as possible and grow the local community behind it.”

This connection to community was echoed by Mayor Kevin Steussi, who showed up at the recent lesson to cheer the students on. “One of my favorite things is going over there and seeing moms and dads who grew up skating there now taking their kids over there too.”

Mr. Steussi also stressed his commitment to the skate park as a local amenity. “I am deeply committed to doing whatever it takes to get that park rebuilt, and I’m thrilled that we have such amazing partners with Rena and her group doing this. There’s wonderful work that’s happening, great special events and some great fundraising to date, and there’s more to do, and we will get there.”

Students from session one expressed a similar connection to the park. “The skatepark is a great place. I love the class and learning. I think we should all support the park because their dream park is my dream park to skate board too!” said 9-year-old Noam Spar. 

The next group skate lesson will take place on Saturday, October 5, from 10 a.m. to noon. This session will be held just before the SK8TOBER Pop-Up event. SK8TOBER will feature a skate contest organized by How To Skateboards along with live music performances that cater to a variety of tastes.

The music lineup for SK8TOBER includes performances by the East End Arts Youth Artists, directed by Chris Jones, hip hop performer and skateboarder DZOE, lyrical poet Bruce of All One Voice, the punk fusion band RX Kings, and a final performance by the hard-core punk band The Great Lie.

“We are excited to bring as much energy and awareness to our park as possible,” Ms. Wilhelm said. “These events are all about bringing our community together, whether through skateboarding, scooter riding, roller and inline skating, or BMX. The turnout and enthusiasm at our first skate lesson show that there is a growing interest in making the Greenport Skate Park a hub for recreation and family fun.”

Greenport Skate Park Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to growing the community and building a safer park for children and a new generation of skaters through events, lessons and community engagement.