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Read the press release here.

Massive Skate Park Coming to Woodhaven

By  Nigel Chiwaya and Jill Colvin | July 12, 2012 10:24am | Updated on July 12, 2012 6:09pm

A rendering of the proposed skate park at Planetree Park
A rendering of the proposed skate park at Planetree Park
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NYC Parks Department

QUEENS — Skaters rejoice!

The Parks Department has put out a request for bids to build a massive new skate park in Woodhaven.

The 10,350-square-foot skate park — the sixth city-run facility in Queens — will be part of a larger renovation at London Planetree Park, on Atlantic Avenue between 88th and 89th streets.

The skate park, located in what is now an asphalt basketball and baseball playground, will feature two stair sections, grind rails, a brick quarter pipe and a series of banks and slopes.

Planetree's location, on the border of Woodhaven and Ozone Park, is a popular spot for skateboarders.

The parking lot of a Pathmark located two blocks away is a skateboarding hub, with skaters hanging out every night from 9:30 p.m. until after midnight testing out tricks, residents say.

The supermarket and some parents views the skateboarders as a nuisance, however, and the parking lot has signs that read "no skateboarding."

"I have to fight through them to get in with my daughter," said one mother, Tiffany Anastasia, 26. Anastasia, who comes to Planetree once a week said that adding a skate park to the area is a bad idea, especially because the park is  popular spot for parents to bring their little children.

"They're rude and obnoxious," said Anastasia.

Skateboarders, however, said that they don't cause trouble. One, David Santana, 19, said that skaters go to the Pathmark parking lot in the evenings because the businesses are closed and the lot is empty.

"Not all skateboarders are bad kids," said Santana, who works at a Gamestop next to the Pathmark. "We like to have fun by we're not slackers."

Santana, who said the parking lot has been a hub for skateboarders for almost a decade, added that the area is a good place for them to test out tricks on flat surfaces. 

The renovations for Planetree, which will cost $1.72 million, will also include two new basketball courts to the south of the skate park, along with adult fitness equipment, a walking path, shrubs and a sitting area.

The offices of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilman Eric Ulrich's will be providing the funds for the project.

The project is expected to be completed in fall 2013.