The loud popping of kickflips and ollies filled San Francisco’s brand-new United Nations Plaza skate park on Wednesday afternoon as skaters and spectators showed up for opening day.
The unveiling of the Recreation and Park Department's pilot program also showcased new spaces for other activities on offer that include a fitness studio and tables for chess, foosball, pingpong and teqball—which mixes soccer and pingpong together.
The program's goal is to make the plaza—long considered the epicenter of the city's drug crisis—a safer and more inviting space, according to city officials.
Matthew Stansell, a San Francisco artist and skater, said he plans on making the trek from his home in the Sunset District to U.N. Plaza more often now.
“It’s an easy Muni ride,” he told The Standard as he lined up with other skateboarders to try out one of the ramps.
A self-described blue-collar skater who never plans to leave San Francisco, Stansell said he is a bit skeptical of the pilot program.
“I’m appreciative of the fact that they built this, and I hope that this is only the beginning,” Stansell said. “I have a dash of cynicism. They didn’t just do this because they love us. There’s always divisiveness, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m really excited to utilize this. I’ll be coming to this area a lot more.”
Tony Vitello, owner of skateboarding magazine Thrasher, said the new park is a callback to classic San Francisco skateboarding spots.
“This is great. I’m really excited about this,” Vitello said. “Bringing in the old Market Street blocks that people used to skate in the ’90s and bringing those back here. On the other side, there’s a China Banks replica, which is modeled after the famous skate spot.”
For Vitello, skating in a setting without fencing, unlike the SoMa skate park at Division Street, is the most important feature.
“It is almost like the skateboarders are in jail with that fence,” Vitello said. “It’s nothing against that park, but the open plaza atmosphere here is just a better overall vibe.”
Going forward, Vitello said he hopes the U.N. Plaza project can start conversations of opening skate parks in other parts of San Francisco—specifically areas like Bayview-Hunters Point, where his office is, and the Excelsior.
“There are people in city hall now who are looking at skateboarding in a different way,” Vitello said. “We can bring more of these plazas to parts of town where it is almost expected that kids need to leave to do stuff. Let’s bring stuff to those neighborhoods.”
Heart of the City Farmers' Market, which has operated at the plaza for 42 years, moved at the beginning of September across the street to Fulton between Larkin and Hyde streets, with many merchants criticizing the relocation as a “logistical nightmare.”
Steve Pulliam, the farmers’ market's executive director, said that about 40% of the vendors have seen a drop in sales since moving to the new location.
“It looks great over there today when they brought all of their participants to use that space,” he said. “So I guess we will have to see, a few months from now, how activated that plaza is. It was hard for our farmers to move over here, and parking is still an issue that makes our job twice as hard over here.”
Mayor London Breed, who spoke at the opening ceremony, endured a rough ride at a previous outing to the plaza for a Board of Supervisors meeting in May, culminating in an arrest after a brick was thrown toward city officials after the meeting was moved due to heckling.
“I would just start by saying that the use for U.N. Plaza as a skate park rather than a Board of Supervisors meeting is a better use,” Breed said. “This is what bringing the community together is all about. Yes, it meant a bit of a change for the farmers market. But let me tell you, I am so happy that the farmers market is a lot closer to City Hall.”