Skateboarders See a (Kick)Flip Side to the Government Closing

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Thu Oct 10, 2013, 05:47 PM - Edit history (1)

From the front page:

Skateboarders See a (Kick)Flip Side to the Government Closing
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303492504579118220560115320

With Washington Plazas Empty and Patrols Down, a Banned Sport Is Suddenly On

By Elizabeth Williamson
Oct. 6, 2013 10:33 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—On Wednesday, the day after government workers vacated federal buildings in downtown here, professional skateboarder Darren Harper got on Facebook and broadcast a message to his crew: "One positive thing about the gov't shutdown—spots at gov't buildings are now skateable!"

Where most people see ornate, neo-Classical federal buildings and sweeping stone plazas in this city, skaters see something else: opportunity, in the form of sturdy railings, low stone benches, ramps—ideal "obstacles" for skateboarding stunts. And now, after years of ducking the national park police that patrol these plazas, this week's closure of public buildings and easing of surveillance offered skaters hope of revisiting their favorite spots. It was, said one, "on."

It's not that the skaters aren't sensitive to the capital's pain. Some work for the government, or their families do. But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a security crackdown pushed skaters out of the Capitol area and eventually into a skate park created for them outside the federal district. And for decades, a federal ordinance has barred the sport on national park property, including trails.
....

So what would happen, he is asked, if the shutdown causes the police to stop chasing the skateboarders altogether? Mr. Harper smiled broadly, then shook his head. "That thrill is always good," he said.

Write to Elizabeth Williamson at [e-mail]

ETA: a video report from Channel 9 the night that I posted.

Furloughs turn DC into skateboarding park
http://capitolhill.wusa9.com/news/news/373321-furloughs-turn-dc-skateboarding-park