Board to Tears

Philadelphia City Paper
November 18–25, 1999

Skaters of the world… unite!

That or something to that effect seems to be the message put forth in the fliers promoting a fundraiser for FDR Skateboard Park being held at Tattooed Mom next Tuesday, Nov. 23.

For the uninitiated, the park is a slab of asphalt, roughly the size of a football field, littered with concrete ramps, steel vert pipes and assorted obstacles designed to test the navigational skills of area and visiting skaters. Drive past the park, located beneath I-95 on South Broad Street, on any given weekend and you’re bound to see license plates representing the greater part of the Eastern seaboard — and that’s merely a sampling of the day-trippers.

In the skateboarding world, that little piece of concrete heaven in South Philly has quickly risen to superstar status among skater parks worldwide. FDR Skateboard Park came to be in the spring of 1995, when city developers erected a couple of pyramid ramps at the site. This was an attempt to pacify displaced skaters who formerly spent their time grinding the rails in Love Park, before a city ordinance outlawed such activities. The Park has since blossomed, through a series of volunteer efforts on the part of the frequenting "locals," into a skater’s haven of global renown, landing on the covers and pages of countless "sk8 mags," including a nod from Slap as one of the "top ten classic skate parks of all time," as well as inclusion in Thrasher’s "top ten spots to skate in the world."

The park has virtually free labor in the form of volunteers, along with somewhat of a resident structure and design expert in professional mason Pat Bodor, who has overseen the majority of construction on the park. However, the raw materials needed to continue development don’t come cheap — and that’s why the skater-friendly crew at Tattooed Mom is stepping up to the plate.

The South Street watering hole has pledged to donate a "healthy percentage" of its total sales from Nov. 23 to the park, according to Robert Perry, owner/manager of "T Mom," as it’s affectionately called. All funds garnered from the benefit — as well as those generated by the park’s recent affiliation with the Friends of Fairmount Park Association, which allows the Skate Park’s organizers to solicit tax-deductible donations from companies and individuals — will be earmarked for materials, such as concrete and rebar, needed to continue the park’s expansion efforts.

"I plan on donating an entire week’s pay to the park," said Mom’s bartender and park frequenter Steve Foss. "We’re just punkin’ each other out, challenging to see who can give more and more."

Deadbeat slackers and moochers, beware, for, according to the flier, "no-show ‘locals’ are subject to hard labor, heavy ridicule, and being snaked eternally." Consider yourself forewarned.

The FDR Skateboard Park Benefit officially runs from 7 p.m. to closing on Tuesday, Nov. 23, at Tattooed Mom, located at 530 South St.

Individuals or corporations wishing to make tax-deductible donations to the park should contact Bill Rogers at 215-886-9067. (Joshua Valocchi)