“This is the best thing to happen in Gardiner since sidewalks. It’s been a long time coming.” So said Malinda Varano at the June 15 Grand Opening of the brand-new pump track at George Majestic Memorial Park. The new 40-by-90-foot concrete structure doubles the size of the existing skate park, and the community came out in force on a gorgeous sunny day to celebrate and give it a tryout – including Varano’s 4-year-old daughter. “Stella, my daughter, is here with her little scooter. She comes here every day.”
Stella follows in the footsteps (or wheel tracks) of a pioneering group of local girls calling themselves the Majestic Sk8 Crü, who carved out a place for themselves in a sport formerly dominated by boys. HV1 has been following their exploits since 2017 (https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2017/01/30/local-girls-learn-the-ropes-of-skateboarding-at-gardiners-majestic-park), and last Saturday, we had an opportunity to catch up with Sk8 Crü co-founder “Ruthless Ruthie Rainbow” Weinman. “I started it when I was 8, and now I’m graduating,” said Ruth.
We asked this avid young skateboarder to clarify the definition of a pump track, as opposed to other features of a skate park. “Having a general flow of it makes it a pump track,” she explained, pointing out how users on various human-powered wheeled vehicles were doing loops of the paths, bowls and moguls, establishing a rhythm and staying out of each other’s way. “When you’re skateboarding and going in a circle, you’re pumping your knees, gaining speed and energy.”
Further elaboration came from Mike Benevento, whose Gardiner-based organization Hudson Valley Trailworks designed and built the new feature, in partnership with Kaaterskill Kahncrete. “The idea of a pump track is that you can drive it in many different ways,” he said. “We had all different riding levels in mind. See how there are four ways to get in? It’s what we call a ‘progressive build.’” According to Benevento, the design is meant to accommodate “BMX bikes, skateboards, scooters – anything with wheels.”
The surface of the pump track is fine-grained, high-PSI concrete, painstakingly polished smooth for speed and to keep out water infiltration. “Lots of parks have tracks that have been around for 30 or 40 years and are still in good shape. This should be maintenance-free for the most part. Concrete is a permanent solution,” Benevento said. “Within a few years, it’ll start to create a scene.” He added that Hudson Valley Trailworks plans to host some events at the site in the near future to teach pump track etiquette and safety to neophytes: “You either have to take turns or ride in a group in a coordinated effort.”
This big step toward making Majestic Park a hub for this popular form of outdoor recreation for youth is the realization of many years of planning by Town of Gardiner officials. In recent years, family members of kids who are into skateboarding and mountain biking have stepped up to volunteer for the Town’s Parks and Recreation Committee, energizing the process. Mike Benevento’s sister Toni and mother Trish Benevento both serve on the Committee, along with Stella Varano’s father Ralph and Ilka Casey, whose daughter Piper is a charter member of the Majestic Sk8 Crü.
All of these were on hand for Saturday’s opening event, along with Committee member Carol Berman. For the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Town of Gardiner supervisor Marybeth Majestic wielded a pair of long-handled loppers that proved balky, so she had to pull out a utility knife to complete the job. (“Disappointed office-seekers” and future political opponents might be well-advised to take note that the supervisor packs a shiv.) Majestic said that she was seeking inspiration for her welcoming remarks while doing Wordle that morning: “I felt ‘happy,’ but that didn’t work. I got it on the third try, and it was ‘proud.’”
On the Town’s behalf, Majestic accepted a check representing a donation of $3,385 raised by the Majestic Sk8 Crü toward the costs of the skate park expansion project. Along with improvements to Majestic Park’s paths and fences, the total pricetag was in the vicinity of $200,000, she said, of which much of the Town’s contribution was in the form of in-kind services from the Highway Department and other municipal agencies. A grant of $96,615 in American Rescue Plan Act community recreation funding from Ulster County was the largest infusion of cash to make the vision of the pump track a reality.
Representing Ulster County government at the Grand Opening was County executive Jen Metzger, beaming her delight at the enthusiastic swarm of young people swirling around the track, some of them doing stunts. “We’re outside, we’re having a good time,” Metzger said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
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