Future Of Morristown Skate Park Still Unknown

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Skateboarding has grown in popularity in Morristown over the years, with a downtown skate store opening only last year, and the community now wants one more thing: an official skate park.

At this week's town council meeting, several skateboarders reiterated the demand for a dedicated skate park, outlining their love and passion for a pastime that some of their neighbors might consider an irritant.

Cultivate Skate Shop co-owner Daniel Arias was one of the first speakers, highlighting the growth that skateboarding has had in town, citing the recent Skate Jam event that was held this summer in July.

"It was honestly a great success; we had over 80 kids, teenagers and adults just there having a good time," Arias said.

Arias said that, while the council may not be in favor of a dedicated skate park at present, they might consider allowing skateboarders to have a dedicated location in George Gramby Park, where the Skate Jam was held.

In February, several residents from both Morristown and Morris County came to a town council meeting, asking the town to consider building a skate park for the children of Morristown. In response, the council mainly praised the group's efforts and commitment to their craft, saying that there is a need for a dedicated skating space within Morristown.

The main issue, however, was finding a space that was big enough and made sense for a skate park, fearing that if it was too close to neighborhoods, some residents would complain about noise and other disturbances.

Arias said that is why he was lobbying for Gramby Park as a potential solution, noting that it was far enough away from houses that noise would not be an issue. "There is a parking lot, it's also fenced in, and it wouldn't really be an added cost to you guys."

Various other speakers went before the council, stating that skateboarding has given them a sense of community and camaraderie but that there is nowhere safe for them to practice and enjoy their sport.

According to Arias, there is only one skate park in all of Morris County, which is in Lake Hiawatha.

"We have kids come in, asking us, ‘Where can I go skate?’ and I just have to point them to right in front of our counter, because that’s kind of the only safe area that we have in Morristown where you don’t have the fear of police, security or cars,” Arias said.

Arias also remarked that while Morristown's culture is gradually transitioning to be more corporate as large corporations continue to migrate into town, the town is losing the cultural character that it once had.

Following the public remarks, members of the council took the opportunity to thank the various speakers who presented their case in front of the community, stressing that their efforts were appreciated and that they needed to keep pushing.

Morristown Council Vice President Nathan Umbriac noted that he fully understood the citizens' safety worries, saying that he had seen countless skateboarders riding in the streets surrounding the town.

Town Administrator Jillian Barrick noted that while the residents had been saying that Gramby Park would ideally make sense as a skate park, the town had recently used grant money to build a futsal court.

"Because of the grant funding, we really would not be able to remove it even if it didn't have activity, but I do believe it is used on a regular basis," Barrick said.

Council members Stefan Armington and Robert Iannaccone both noted that the town could not continue to ignore this request and push skateboarders away by arguing that there is no park space available for them.

"They are looking for some answers, and we have limited park space in town. I honestly think that the disservice we are doing to you is not helping you enough with the county. You need an answer. We're sitting here, and we're not giving you an answer because we don't really have a park," Iannaccone said.

Iannaccone also offered to assist the organization in following up with the Morris County Park Commission, which Dimitri Darche, co-owner of Cultivate Skate Shop, addressed in his comments.

Mayor Tim Dougherty remarked that most municipalities in Morris County do not have skate parks owing to insurance and liability issues, stressing that cities can still be sued even with a waiver. Dougherty also claimed that he plans to approach Morris Township Mayor Mark Gyorfy about the creation of a shared skateboard park.