Skateboarders of all ages took a break in the middle of a beautiful Saturday afternoon at their new park to make way for a crowd of public officials to take over for a bit.
Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton cut the ribbon on the new park in front of an assemblage of representatives who helped make the park possible. The skaters joined the photo op, standing and sitting on the rim of the new bowl at the state-of-the-art concrete facility.
In very brief remarks at the ceremony, Thornton said it was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the new park, and he complimented Ocean City as progressive partner in the effort to build it.
The ribbon-cutting was part of Ocean City’s Indian Summer Weekend festivities and took place a noon at the park at Fifth Street and Asbury Avenue.
Thornton, Freeholder Marie Hayes, Freeholder Will Morey, Cape May County Clerk Rita Fulginiti, state Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi, Mayor Jay A. Gillian, Ocean City Business Administrator Jim Mallon, Mayor’s Assistant Mike Dattilo, Councilman Mike DeVlieger and Jen DeVlieger, Councilman Antwan McClellan and local skaters Steve Beseris, Chris Pustizzi and John Bonino were among those in attendance.
The park opened on Sept. 24 and within minutes word began to spread about the long-awaited completion of the facility.
The park is open to the public at no charge from 9 a.m. to dusk daily and subject to a set of rules (now enforced by on-site staff).
The opening of the facility marked the fulfillment of a promise by the city administration to replace a smaller skateboard park that was closed by the city in 2011 due to safety concerns.
The project cost a little less than $750,000, and the city will be reimbursed $500,000 from a Green Acres Cape May County Recreation Grant that was announced in September 2014. City Council had already approved a capital plan that calls for borrowing $250,000 for the balance of the project.
First Ward Councilman Mike DeVlieger spearheaded a planning committee that organized the effort to create the park.
