ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- For nearly four months Rochester-area skateboarders, BMXers and scooter riders were left without a place to go to practice the sports they love.
“I love BMX because it brings all kind of people together,” Henrietta resident Marcus Bazinet said. “I meet people that live in the suburbs from people that live in middle of the city, and we all have the common interest of BMX.”
During that time, however, Breaking Free Skatepark owner Dave Raffa was hard at work, taking the closed Rochester Action Sports Park and making it his own.
“I knew beforehand that the place was built in a manner that it could be rebuilt because it’s entirely screws, so everything came apart,” Raffa said.
So piece by piece, Raffa and a group of volunteers took each ramp apart to reshape the park, all of this part of what he called a community effort.
“It’s crazy, the camaraderie, the different people coming together,” Raffa said. “It’s hard to explain what it is, but it’s incredible.”
They even brought in a bowl from a park that shut down in Syracuse; a piece Raffa said has already drawn in more customers.
“The bowl is a very unique obstacle,” Raffa said. “There are not a lot of bowls around. They’re really hard to make out of wood.”
Bazinet decided to pitch in after riding at Rochester Action Sports Park for years. He knew without the park, he would have no place to go.
“It’s awesome, honestly,” Bazinet said. “It’s a great feeling, and it’s the largest skate park in New York State, so that’s awesome too.”
While the park has brought back many old faces, it’s attracted new people too, several of whom tell us they are surprised with the result.
“He fell, like a lot of people, and they say ‘are you okay?’” Angelo Lopez, 11, said about his friend. “Everybody is nice here. Nice skate park too.”
Raffa said growing up it was BMX that helped define him as person and that’s exactly what he hopes the park will do for all those who step inside of it.