Getting On Board For Montclair's Skatepark

This is a good first step. I hope they can come up with some good ideas to raise the funds (or at least a chunk of them) instead of devoting all of their energy to scheming on how to sue the town into building a park.

Please keep us updated, Barista ladies. I would be very interested in contributing time and/or cash to an originization that wants to go about this in the right fashion. But, if Plofker is onboard, they probably don't need my money. :-P

I have friends who live on Argyle - and even they support a skatepark.

However they do ask that people stop peeing in the park, and dumping trash.

hrhppg ,

did you sign the online petition- there's a link for it above.

GNM,
Where do you get the idea that a lawsuit will follow. I haven't heard any suggestions of one.

Kips castle seems like a great idea to me, there's about 12 acres up there, it's out of the way and honestly...what else are they going to use it for?

Kips belongs to the county now. I doubt there will ever be a 'skate park' up there.

Skaters can take the Midtown Direct to NYC where skating is alive and well wherever the kids can outrun or skate the local 'authorities'.

If you look at the story linked above, Mrs. Kennon was contemplating filing a suit against the town. I'm just hoping she isn't the sort who sees this as a means to get whatever she wants.

Skaters can take the Midtown Direct to NYC where skating is alive and well wherever the kids can outrun or skate the local 'authorities'.

Worked well enough for my friends and me when we were young. But, I can see a parent having reservations about letting their 14 or 15 year old (sometimes younger) doing this.

A privately funded and maintained skatepark is a wonderful idea.

Walleroo,

Agreed. But, I fear there may not be adequate space in Montclair that is not town or county property. That's why I suggested a town (or county) park built mostly or entirely with donations and maintained through useage fees.

There's a skate park in Clifton. http://www.cliftonnj.org/skatezone/facility_features.htm
Has anyone gone there? Non-resident membership is available.

That would be fine, GNM, as long as the cost to the town was proscribed and relatively small. What worries me is the prospect of these relatively wealthy people pushing through something expensive that the rest of us wankers have to pay for.

If you read the story you would realize that...

The suit was for the unlawful arrest of her minor son and the confiscation of hhis skateboard.

The suit was NOT about a skatepark.

walleroo,

you mean like moving the ballfield 17 feet?

When my brother was arrested for shoplifting as a child, my mother left him in jail overnight to teach him a lesson.
My brother is now a very successful lawyer.

When Sabine's son was arrested for skateboarding where the police had formerly warned him not to, Sabine has contemplated suing the township. Perhaps she can hire my brother?

Skatepark or no skatepark, I have a hard time supporting this cause.

Hmmm caught shoplifting, spends night in jail becomes lawyer. Skateboarding, spends night in jail will become.....skateboarder, maybe should have shoplifted instead.

13%annualtaxhike,

he was NOT arrected for skateboarding. He was standing in a bank parking lot talking with friends and holding his skateboard. One of the friends was also holding a skatebord- he too was arrested. Two other friends- on with a bike- and one with a skooter were not arrested.

From what I understand sabine's son was charged with trespassing.

So the two skateboarders who were not skateboarding were arrested and the other two kids who were standing next to them were not.

I see discrimination.

Hiding,

I did read the entire thing and my point is this: This woman contemplated suing the police (who, in my book, are an extension of the town) for arresting someone after giving prior warning that he was doing something illegal.

I'm *hoping* that she doesn't look at law suits as a tool to get her way (you know, like suing the town as a tool to get her child out of trouble?).

I'm all for the skate park (as I've mentioned time and again), but really don't trust the scruples of someone who threatens to add to the already congested court system with frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit whenever she doesn't agree with someone.

Walleroo,

I agree with you 100%.

Yes hiding - I signed it!

arrected = arrested

You see discrimination, but I see coddling.

If the cops told me not to swim at the Essex pool (regardless of the whether or not I thought it was fair), then you would not catch me in one of the lounge chairs there with a bathing suit on.

It is one thing for one to lobby for a skatepark. It is a completely different issue to not see the wrong in Sabine's son hanging out in a location where he was told not to be with a skateboard in hand.

Is there no personal responsibility left in American society?

IMO, the cops arrest of this young man was completely justified!

For example, if your son got hit by a car in that parking lot, would you have sued the bank owner, the Montclair Police, the township or more likely, all three?

So why was your son in the parking lot at the bank with his friends then? Did they make a deposit or withdrawal?

frivilous lawsuit? For a discriminatory arrest. Sounds like it's a deserved lawsuit to me.

What was the discrimination...Anti-skateboarder?

Are you for real?

Personal disclaimer: I was a skater for more years than young Kennon has been alive.

frivilous lawsuit? For a discriminatory arrest. Sounds like it's a deserved lawsuit to me.

And that is just sad.

You know what my friends and I did when the cops told us to stop skating (or more likely to stop LOITERING) somewhere? We said "ok" and started skating somewhere else.

His buddies without the skateboards weren't arrested? Maybe they weren't there when the cop first gave the warning and decided to be FAIR to the other kids. Or maybe the cop remembered warning this young lad and his friend because the last time they were warned it was while doing a particularly suicidal trick. Unless you were sitting in the parking lot BOTH times, the entire issue becomes that of some 15 year olds' words versus a cop's. Guess who I'm going to trust?

Why is it so difficult for you to say "yes, this young man should be held accountable for his actions?"

13%,

Ditto.

Personal disclaimer: I was a skater for more years than young Kennon has been alive.

Posted by 13%annualtaxhike | August 22, 2007 1:23 PM

And your point?

so carrying a skateboard is now a crime? I looked iin the Montclair ordinances and didn't find any ordiance that said that. Could you show me the ordinance that says no carrying skateboards please.

Discrimination? When did skateboarders receive protected class status?

he was NOT arrected for skateboarding. He was standing in a bank parking lot talking with friends and holding his skateboard. One of the friends was also holding a skatebord- he too was arrested. Two other friends- on with a bike- and one with a skooter were not arrested.

From what I understand sabine's son was charged with trespassing.

So the two skateboarders who were not skateboarding were arrested and the other two kids who were standing next to them were not.

I see discrimination.

Posted by HidingInBaristaville | August 22, 2007 1:07 PM

Simply that I don't have an anti-skater bias.

I don't want you thinking that I'm an old fogey now ;)

why did they handcuff him?

Why did they confiscate his skateboard when he was arrested for trspass?

Maybe they should have confiscated his sneakers since they were touching the ground that he trespassed on.

The police are dead wrong wwhen they enforce the laws on just a small segment of the population.

Shouldn't Mrs. Morris have been arrested for trespass? After all, she parked in a bank lot when the bank wasn't open and in a spot that said it was for bank employees. Yet she wasn't arrested.

Simply that I don't have an anti-skater bias.

I don't want you thinking that I'm an old fogey now ;)

Posted by 13%annualtaxhike | August 22, 2007 1:47 PM

Maybe not a skateboarder bias but probably a bias against kids.

I have walked accross that parking lot- no I don't bank there- and have never been warned not to by the police or arrested for walking on bank property. And the bank never complained or called about the young people standing talking in the parking lot.

It also comes down to the fact that Montclair needs a REC Center for kids to hang out at.

why did they handcuff him?

Standard police procedure for an arrest.

Why did they confiscate his skateboard when he was arrested for trspass?

That part is debatable. But, probably for the same reason they impound your car for a parking in an illegal spot on private property.

Maybe they should have confiscated his sneakers since they were touching the ground that he trespassed on.

If he had been sent to Juvie on a more serious charge, they would have.

The police are dead wrong wwhen they enforce the laws on just a small segment of the population.

Agreed, excepting for the fact that this is not the case.

Shouldn't Mrs. Morris have been arrested for trespass?

She had her car impounded and a summons for illegal parking (a form of trespass) was issued in her absence. I'd say that she got the exact same treatment as young Master Kennon, only without the benefit of previous verbal warning.

so you think she was handcuffed and arrested? I think NOT

Posted by Goober Peas | August 22, 2007 1:56 PM

It also comes down to the fact that Montclair needs a REC Center for kids to hang out at.
--------------------------------
I don't like spending tax money on frivelous things, but I agree Goober Peas. This town needs a rec center. Too bad we couldn't take the million extra we are putting into the field house upgrade and used it for something much more needed like this rec center.

And as for my anti-kid bias. You are so wrong I'm not even going there. I have a kid, love kids, was a camp counselor, etc.

o minors are to be arrested and adults are issued a ticket and you think that that is right.

Goober Peas (which I'm guessing is what's filling the space between your ears),

If Mrs. Norris was at the scene while her car was getting towed and put up enough of a fight the she would have absolutely been thrown in cuffs and booked, probably on something much worse then trespass.

The other reason for a minor being arrested for something that caries a citation as comparable punishment is simple: Name me a single 15 year old that caries legal ID during the summer. Even a high school ID, which won't have a child's address and therefore cannot be used to enforce an unpaid citation, will most likely be left at home for the summer.

Let me also repeat, for the umpteenth time over the course of all these threads: THIS KID HAD BEEN GIVEN PRIOR WARNING!

If he had no prior warning to stop loitering in this bank lot, then my stance would be very different. As it stands, he was warned, chose to ignore that warning (his arguing the semantics of the officer aside), and got caught. Sorry, but my sympathy gland just isn't that blind.

I'm not clear here as to the argument. Was it that she wasn't arrested and handcuffed for trespassing with her car under her arm or that the skateboard wasn't towed away?

Ambidextrous,

I'm not quite sure, as that seems to be the only real difference in scenarios.

Trying to figure it out has made me thirsty, though. Thank God for $2.50 pint night at The Office (located within easy walking distance of my apartment).

"The Office" used to be "Suburbans", a low rent divey kind of place with a small stage for local R&R, Folk and Blues bands, cold beer, hot women and a bouncer who was about 5'4" tall and was an ex-professional fighter. It was a second home to me for many years, the kind of place you'll never see in Montclair, ever again.

MB,

That's a shame. Sounds like just the place the fiance and I would take an instant shine to.

Let me also repeat, for the umpteenth time over the course of all these threads: THIS KID HAD BEEN GIVEN PRIOR WARNING!

If he had no prior warning to stop loitering in this bank lot, then my stance would be very different. As it stands, he was warned, chose to ignore that warning (his arguing the semantics of the officer aside), and got caught. Sorry, but my sympathy gland just isn't that blind.

Well he had a prior warning but it was for skateboarding. And it was not for skateboarding in the bank parking lot. And he wasn't skateboardinghe was talking to friends while holding a skateboard.

A world of difference in my opinion.

So the cops warn him for something and then arrest him for something else and you say he was warned.

"with her car under her arm "

Why would she have her car under her arm? She was too busy yelling at the building owner. Maybe she should have been arrested for public disturbance.

Maybe the police should have been in the bank parking lot to warn her when she drove in.

"If he had been sent to Juvie on a more serious charge, they would have."

What charge would you have suggested to the Police? Breathing while under 18?

Having friends to talk to while under 18?

being out of his house while under 18?

You are grasping at straws Hiding.

If it was my kid, he would have been banned from skating for a month minimum.

I plan to raise my children in a way that they plan to abide by the law, not to dance around it on a minor technicality.

Young Kennon is no Rosa Parks.

Used to live around the corner from the Suburban in the late 70's, 80's, great dive. It was of course located on Bloomfield Ave. and not next to me on the corner of Valley Rd. & Portland PL. Then again we didn't have to worry about parking issues as the cops took all the illegal spots.

I plan to raise my children in a way that they plan to abide by the law, not to dance around it on a minor technicality.

Young Kennon is no Rosa Parks.

Posted by 13%annualtaxhike | August 22, 2007 3:28 PM

Better teach them not to jaywalk or walk on the grass 'cause that's what they'll be arresting kids for next.

When they do get arrested I hope you leave them in jail when they are arrest "to teach them a lesson" and so that they have a criminal record by the time they are 18.

I agree that Mr. kennon is no Rosa Parks since he wasn't riding in a bus but was on his feet when he was erroneously arrested and his property was seized.

As to dancing around the law on a "technicality". The law is the law and in this instance it was misused.

Well he had a prior warning but it was for skateboarding. And it was not for skateboarding in the bank parking lot. And he wasn't skateboarding he was talking to friends while holding a skateboard.

A) So he says.
B) Assuming his account is 100% accurate, you are now arguing semantics.
C) I see someone holding a smoking gun at a shooting range. Is it safe to say they were just shooting that gun?

So the cops warn him for something and then arrest him for something else and you say he was warned.

He was warned not to skate on bank property. He is an idiot for bringing a skateboard anywhere near that bank and even more so for hanging out in that lot with his board. See point C above.

What charge would you have suggested to the Police?

To get sent to Juvie? I'd say assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, or a number of other things. Fortunately, he didn't do any of these things, so he was allowed to keep his sneakers.

You do realize you're stretching, right?

Have you read anything of the posts I've made? I'm glad to see so many skaters in Montclair. It makes me nostalgic. But, that doesn't mean these kids shouldn't be held to the same exact levels of accountability that I was as a young skater.

There, I made most of that last sentence bold, so maybe you read it.

Funny hiding,

I already teach my son not to jay walk and he is only two. We always walk to the corner before crossing and I remind him to look both ways as well. I had the privilege of living in Los Angeles where the police ticket jay walkers, and was glad that they did.

I don't think my son will disobey police officers. If he does, time in juvi will be a cakewalk compared to his time spent at home.

As a parent, I think it is more appropriate to reward good behavior than bad.

Jaywalking is one of my largest pet peeves and everytime I see someone doing it I hope for a beat cop to be waiting on the other side of the street with a ticket pad (for both child and adult offenders).

As a parent, I think it is more appropriate to reward good behavior than bad.

I agree 100% and plan on applying that same logic when I have kids.

Having lived in Ca., know people there and recently visited, don't jay walk, almost guaranteed ticket. Why there and not here? Instead you have these idiotic cones and signs that are more of distraction than just obeying the law. Welcome to NJ, land of the obfuscation

FYI, lived in no other states, not trying to compete with cathar.

I kind of doubt you'd ever represent "competition" for me, ambidextrous. Especially when it comes to bringing someone else's name into any discussion no matter how gratuitously. But thank you for the idea, I have myself been looking somewhat for a replacement in this way for lasermikey (who seems so moribund in so many ways).

All, but perhaps Generically named Mike the most, might enjoy this revelation. I was once actually ticketed for jaywalking, in the pouring rain at 5:30PM on a Friday evening of a long-ago April, at 42nd Street & Broadway. One cop kept felonious me at bay with his nightstick screwed ito my chest, so I couldn't get under the awning of the shoe store with them to get out of the deluge, while the second wrote out my citation.

cather,
I do not consider anyone here "competition" because it is an exchange of ideas and not a "pissing contest", I was merely distancing myself from obvious rhetoric of being an expert in everything, and definitely not soliciting for canonization as a saint like you, who is just Judith Martin crossed with William Safire.

But cathar can pee his name in the snow.

He wins!

cathar,

While I am glad to hear about the most basic of pedestrian laws being enforced, I don't take any extra glee in hearing that the cops were being abusive about the situation.

They wouldn't even let you stand under an awning while they wrote out your citation? That sucks.

Ambidextrous, if you envy me so, just come right out and admit it. If not, well, you can always go "conjugate" in a Garfield basement with the sorry, flaccid likes of exit 151. Both of you strike me as already living a gratuitous existence in so many ways.

GNM, when the citation was written way back when, being poked with a nightstick would never have qualified as "abuse." Nothing short of being shot by a cop might have qualified so long ago. (And some who post here about crime might even wish a return to those days.)

Jaywalking is one of my largest pet peeves and everytime I see someone doing it I hope for a beat cop to be waiting on the other side of the street with a ticket pad (for both child and adult offenders).

Holy crap. Move to California or Utah, man. One of the last vestiges of common-law freedom that we have in the Northeast is the ability to cross the street in most places, so long as we do so safely.

If anything, we should investigate bringing back some forbidden things, like simple fireworks, limited skate park liability, Jarts, etc.

Tony,

The reason why it is one of my largest peeves is actually quite selfish: Jay walkers give all habitual pedestrians (such as me) a bad name!

Much the same way that those jerks on the delivery bikes who ride on the sidewalks and dart across red lights are making it harder for people in NYC to get serious bike friendly legislation through, the people who don't follow the law when it comes to crossing the street really don't help get the "yield to pedestrians" mentality going in drivers. Granted, some drivers will ignore the cross walk rules regardless, but removing the mentality of "pedestrians are going to cross whenever and wherever they want so I shouldn't even bother checking the crosswalks" is definitely not helped by that very sort of behavior.

Any word, Oh Barista Chicks, on the turnout for the skatepark lovefest last night? Did the assembled crowd make any plans? Didn't one of the Baristas plant themselves there to report? Inquiring minds want to know.

I hope they didn't go last night. They would have been incredibly bored sitting there by their lonesomes.