Skate or Die, just not next to each other in Miami

Hey, we’re famous! Or at least we got mentioned in the Miami Dade Herald. Family members of relatives buried in the Miami City Cemetery are upset about the skatepark slated to be built next door, and it’s at this point that you can insert a noise violation joke about waking the dead. The article mentions Seth Levy’s post about the proposed park being under attack by local NIMBYs. The Miami Dade Herald article is not so subtly slanted against the skatepark. The photos all show mourning relatives in the cemetery and how historic it is, what with all the veterans (both sides) of the Civil War buried there. They feature quotes from people feel having a skatepark next door is somehow an affront to the people buried there. They make a point of how it’s easy to find (via the internet) incidents of trouble at skateparks around the country, including recent closures. Skate and Annoy is almost the positive voice in the article, and I have to say I’m suspicious that they only included it because of the negative connotations of the name. Read the article, but please remember you represent skateboarders. If you choose to comment on that site, think about whether your comments will help or hurt the cause of Miami skaters. Another bummer: The park will apparently have monitors and therefore restricted hours. I don’t know how we skate unsupervised in the rest of the world.

– Thanks to Chad Balcom for the tip.