Check FranklinsPaine.com for updates on a slew of projects we have been working to develop. Each in various stages but all carry potential for the same success we all continue to see at Pop’s Playground. Click around to see all the locations around the City we have been and continue working to develop, and as always, get in touch if you want to help with any of these or have your own suggestion for a spot. It is important to keep in mind that the easiest way to get something going is to use land that is already in Parks & Recreation’s name. This means they can apply their existing insurance policy (a la Pop’s) to the space which drastically cuts down on lead time. For example: the Nicetown site took 1 year to transfer into Parks & Rec’s custody (this correlates into increased insurance $ for them) so we could even being to think about developing something there; the local NicetownCDC has been trying to get skateboarding involved there for over five years now. Please keep in mind that none of this happens on its own, we have to fight for what we want and seize every opportunity as it comes along. We are still trying to get on our feet website-wise so if there is any other information you would like to see or you think could be useful, please let us know!
There’s a do-nothing city park on Front Street, just north of…. Queen? It’s a little side pocket park off the sidewalk. I don’t think it gets much use. Let’s see about replacing those skate-proof benches with some nice ones and a couple new features.
Is the Poplar spot the one with shit on it already? If that spot is official I might try to whip something up. Is that kosher?
Went to the 9th st spot on rain board yesterday. Real nice, reminds me of dirt park by Wawa a few years back. Thanks to whoever put the energy into that one…
Hat tip on this post over at skatedaily.net.
Nick and the folks at FP, thank you for communicating more openly with the skate community about what projects are at hand. It has been a long time coming and I finally feel like people are stepping to the plate to let the community know what is happening within the organization.
It is good PR for the organization to constantly be letting the public know what is happening vs. telling the community we should be reaching out to the organization to find out what is going on.
I know it’s no easy task. Keep on fighting the good fight.
Thank you for the kind words Jon! For the record, please know that any lack of communication on our part was not because we were trying to be secretive in any way about what we do, but because we did not have the help or resources necessary to handle both pushing these projects forward and reaching out PR-wise to the community. Claire Laver has been absolutely amazing and the past six months with her direction and organization as our director have really made a huge difference.
To respond to Andy about East Poplar – If you are talking about where Parrish St. runs into 9th – as it says on our website under that post, it is NOT officially ok to build there right now. We have made Parks & Rec. aware that the space is being used for such but it appears the asphalt under the rail line is SEPTA’s land and they have not been able to get back to me about moving forward with a legitimate spot there. I have been back and forth with one of their “Long Term Planners” about it but he had to defer to their real estate department about whether they own the actual land under the overpass. I have not heard anything back after multiple emails. They own the right of way above, but it is still uncertain to us who owns the actual ground below where things are being built and skated. Both the City Planning Commission and SEPTA have not been able to answer me so we will continue to chase down and put pressure on them to get us answers, but for now, as I said, build at your own risk.
good job guys…
Thanks for the heads up.
What about trying to get approval to build by the Wawa 95 ramp, south of the old Tasker spot? I realize that thus far the city has shown a preference to the thriving homeless encampment and piles human excrement but it couldn’t hurt to try. There are no residential properties in earshot.
Thumbs up on the major improvements you guys are making. We all appreciate the updates.
This is all so exciting. It’s so awesome to see dudes take initiative and deal with the absurdly long legalities and bullshit that the government puts people through to just build a little skatepark. All these great little spots that people set up renegade style, while totally fun, are constantly in jeopardy of being demolished by the city. That’s obviously no reason to stop building DIY spots, I hope that happens more too, its just that it sucks to see people spend money and time on building some spot that then gets destroyed. It seems to me that Franklin’s Paine has, and can, help the Philly skate scene so much by funding and organizing the construction of sick spots that we can all ride for free (pad-less) that aren’t constantly on the brink of destruction! Keep up the good work FP.