Schedule

For anyone who’s here early and wants to experience our TNS

Name: Tuesday Night Skate (TNS)
Leader:  “French” Eric & Jim Marx
Level: ADVANCED Street Skate 
Distance: 20 – 25 miles
Group-Up: 8pm – Grand Army Plaza by the statue of General Sherman, at the intersection of Fifth Ave & 60th St. (also the SE entrance to Central Park).
Picture of Grand Army Plaza Below
End: Prohibition Bar (and the Skeedle Brothers)

Sign up Here on Facebook:

Highlights:

Why not start the week early with New York City’s longest running group skate, rolling since 1989!!

Empire Skate Club’s Tuesday Night Skate (TNS) is for high intermediate and advanced street skaters well accustomed to skating after dark and skating in traffic. It will be the most difficult skate of the week. It is fast paced and there are NO RULES!* (see below)

They roll out at 8 PM. Please let us know if you will be attending this skate and an escort will be provided to and from the Hotel.

A typical route is usually 20 – 25 miles. Frequently visited destinations include places in the Bronx (the Reservoir or the Zoo), over the George Washington Bridge to NJ, Queens (the Unisphere), Brooklyn (Prospect Park or Red Hook), and upper Manhattan (the Cloisters).

The skate ends about 11:00pm at the Prohibition Bar for food, drink and the Skeedle Brothers, one of the best & unique cover bands you’ll ever hear.

Please wear appropriate protection, including  a helmet and wrist guards. Light-colored or reflective clothing is very much recommended. Lights are also very helpful.

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

Early Birds!! Come join NYCs largest weekly social skate; the always enjoyable, world famous, Wednesday Night Skate!

Distance: 12 – 14 miles
Leader: WNS Staff
Group-Up:  7:45 – Union Square South
End:  Drinks and socializing at @ 10:00pm at Triona’s Irish Pub
(located at 192 3rd Ave, btwn 17th & 18th St)

Highlights:  We never know… WNS is its own thing! But you’ll see the same skaters. It’s a fairly casual, social skate around the streets of NYC. It may or may not include bridges, hills, ramps, overpasses, sidewalks, etc.  WNS is the largest intermediate, group street skate in NYC.

Your escort to WNS from the hotel is of course, Mike Gundart!
Group-up across the street at Dante Park at 7pm.

But if you feel like getting there on your own:
Skate to WNS from Hotel: 
Subway to WNS from Hotel:  

WNS on FaceBook

WNS on FaceBook – Community Page

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

Distance: 18 miles
Leader:  Seth “Thumbs-up” McCay
Group-up: 7:45pm
See Route Map:  Here!

Highlights:
West side path, Union Square, Washington Square Park (people watching), Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Promenade (with spectacular views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan), Manhattan Bridge

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

Distance: 12-14 “Easy” Miles  (Footwear Required)
Leader:  Westchester “Collar” Pete
Group-up: 10:45am
See Route Map:  Part 1   |   Part 2

Highlights:

An outing to Westchester and the Bronx’s City Island….what else would you expect when the leader is Westchester Pete?

To ensure that you have energy for the legendary Friday Night Skate, we’ll keep the miles to a minimum by using the commuter train and the NYC subway to take us to waterfront locations on the Long Island Sound.

After a brief skate to 125th Street in Harlem, we will board the Metro North commuter train to the city of New Rochelle where we will skate to Glen Island, a former summer resort that is now used by the city as a public beach and recreation park.

The skate south from there will take us through Pelham Manor and then across the border back into New York City’s borough of the Bronx where we will skate over a bridge (small incline) to the former Minifer’s Island. Yes, “Da Bronx” has an island all its own that is known for its marinas, shipbuilding, and the seafood restaurants that line City Island Avenue, the main thoroughfare that extends from one end to the other on the 1 ½ mile-long island. Movie buffs may remember the 2009 film “City Island” that was filmed in part on the island. We will take a break on the island for some “Lobsta” or whatever works for the group.

After lunch, the hour of the day will dictate our next move. We will most likely skate off the island to Pelham Bay Park where will take a subway back to the hotel, but feel free to skate the entire way back if you have the energy and want the miles.

Transportation Expense:
$8.50 for one-way ride on Metro North
$2.75 for subway ride

Transportation Schedule: Metro North train from Harlem 125th Street Station to New Rochelle Station
Departs: 11:47 am
Arrives: 12:10 pm

Late Departure Option: Metro North train from Grand Central or Harlem 125th Street Station to Pelham Train Station
Departs: 12:37 (Grand Central) or 12:47 (Harlem 125 th )
Arrives: 1:07 pm (Skate southeast on Pelhamdale Avenue to Manor Circle to
meet the group)

Mandatory Gear: Helmet, wrist guards, footwear (elbow and knee pads recommended).

Leader Contact Info: (914) 262-7950 or pgmck03@yahoo.com

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

Time: 4pm – 6:45pm
Location:  Host Hotel

Waiver signing, Free Goodies, Raffle tickets, T-Shirt sales, K2 Skate Auction & Distribution of Survival Guide (Final Schedule)

Sign up for the Saturday afternoon buy-in lunch (You must sign the skate waiver first!)

*Sign up for Saturday Night Pub Crawl (Starts around 10pm at the Empire Rooftop)

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. 
FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (but we can’t police this. It is YOUR responsibility).

Distance: You Tell US!
Leader:  Arnav “Sonic” Shah
Group-up: 4:30pm in Front of Hotel  

Highlights:

How often do you get to learn from one of the best skaters & teachers around? You’ll learn beginner to advanced slalom techniques based on the needs of the group. This will be a 90 minute session.

Distance: 15.5 miles
Leader:  Sarai(with an i) “Bullet” Pegram
Fast Breakaway:  Arnav “Sonic” Shah
Group-up: 6:45pm
See Route Map: HERE

*NOTE: If late you can use the Glympse link above to find us! 

Highlights:
Central park, East Side Path, 1st Avenue Tunnel, Grand Central Station, Times Square & more.

We’ll have a fast breakaway towards the middle of the skate while the rest of the crew takes in more sites in Midtown. PLEASE NOTE: The fast breakaway may be really……………. FAST………

We’ll come back together for our famous “slow roll” down 7th Avenue and right through Times Square (still great fun even for us locals!). We’ll stop for our iconic group photo shot. The crowds LOVE seeing us skate by. We will definitely GET NOTICED!!

As is customary with most Friday night skates, we encourage you to “LIGHT YOURSELF UP“!! Be CrEaTiVe!! “Some” Glow sticks (FREE) and blinkies ($5) available at Registration.

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

We’ll be rolling right into our new Friday night spot and it’s a GREAT ONE!! We plan on arriving at 10pm.

Pier I (piericafe.com) is located at West 70th Street and Riverside Park South, right on the Hudson River. They have fast, fresh food & drinks with open air seating & river views. They are skate friendly and are situated right at the beginning of a long pier out into the Hudson. And you can skate right out onto the pier and see incredible views of the George Washington Bridge lit up at night in the distance. A little hint of where you’ll be skating on Saturday.

Time: 7:30am – 9am
Location:  Host Hotel

If you didn’t make it last night: ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. 

Waiver signing, Free Goodies, Raffle ticket sales for SkateIA Registration, Athens to Atlanta Entry, many skate discounts, fitness & skate bags, wheels, bearings, frames & t-shirts. Also T-Shirt sales & Distribution of Survival Guide (Final Schedule).

There may be Big Apple Roll Home-baked goodies to pick up! Last year there were very special handmade BAR cookies and home-made energy bars.

*Sign up for Saturday Night Pub Crawl (Starts around 9:30pm – space limited)

Distance: 15 miles to lunch | 13 miles back to hotel
Leader:  Michael “Brozzzer” Grebinsky/Westchester Collar Pete
Fast Breakaway: Daniel “Make it So” Rosen
Group-up: 9:15am
See Route Map: Here!

Note 1: It’s probably a good idea to have footware handy
Note 2: Helmets are required as per NJ signs for bikers. Don’t risk a ticket!

Highlights:

After this year’s Big Apple Roll you’ll be able to say you skated over the George Washington Bridge! And it’s a first for the BAR too. We’ll head over the bridge to an amazing lookout at the Fort Lee Historic Park, one of George Washington’s Revolutionary War encampments that most locals don’t even know exists! You’ll have some time to check-out the various paths and historical info within the park if you like.

Then it’s off to our waterfront “adventure”! We’ll make our way to the entrance of Palisades Interstate Park where we’ll be heading down, down, down to the river on a beautiful, long, smooth road with just the right amount of decline.  At the bottom there’s an Art & Music Pop-up Festival. We’ll try to spend a little time at the festival but it’s liable to be very crowded.

Of course, what goes down, must come up!! Our lunch spot is actually very close (but straight UP!). And we give you 3 ways to get to it:

1. Take the Dyckman Hill Challenge: It’s 4/10 of a mile skating up a very steep hill to our destination. Peer pressure is highly encouraged. Take the challenge and skate the hill. That beer/soda will taste SO good. And the first 20 people up the hill will get a prize!!
2. Take the Trail: There’s a very pretty 10 minute hike up a stone trail, passing by a couple of waterfalls. You’ll get to the top before the skaters. And yes, you’ll need footwear.
3. Take a ride: We’ve made arrangements for transportation to the top if you’re pooped. NO shame!! The ride down to the river is so worth it!

Lunch ($22 Buy-in) – The Bicycle Club (Englewood Cliffs, NJ):

Once we all reach the top of the Palisades, our lunch spot is just a couple of blocks away. We’ll have a pizza buffet with salad, pasta, vegetables and TBD. This will be a buy-in lunch that will cost $22, including tax, tip, soft drinks & $1 off beer/wine. This is a great deal, considering we put no money down and have the space reserved. Empire is also kicking in a few $$$ to keep the price down for everyone. And we have a custom Spotify Playlist in the works. (If you have special dietary needs you will also be able to order off the menu, a la carte, not including tax, tip, etc)

Back to Manhattan:

We’ll head back down to the G.W. Bridge on some smooth, rolling hills. And after reaching the other side we’ll be rolling up to one of our favorite stops, Grant’s Tomb. We’ve made friends with the security guards so they usually tolerate us for 10 minutes or so to grab a group shot. Then we’ll be heading down the very smooth Riverside Drive and Riverside Boulevard. There may be some other stops along the way depending on time. We should be back at the hotel by 5pm.

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

1. It’s up to the rooftop of the Empire Hotel!

Meet us for food and drinks from 7pm. The views and atmosphere are incredible. We’re hoping to get a great group shot under the Empire Hotel sign.

And we are going to have a HUGE live raffle this year. We’ll be raffling off free entry to EVERY major skate event in the U.S. Plus a free pair of Rollerblades, tons of wheels, skate discounts, an amazing gift basket from Life is Good & lots of other stuff.

2. Then around 9:45 pm, leaving from the Empire Rooftop, it’s Ducky & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Or you can opt to stay at the Rooftop!

They are two of our favorite skaters and the best of friends. For those that want to keep it going into the morning, Ducky & Ted will be leading this year’s pub crawl downtown. They definitely know how to party. And this is sure to be a wild time!

No skates, but helmets and wrist-guards are definitely recommended for the pub crawl!

Distance: 14 miles
Leader:  Jack “WNS” Facchin
Group-up: 9:15am
See Route Map: 

Highlights:

Plato-Socrates Park, Astoria Park, Skate Park under the RFK bridge, the East River, Long Island City & Williamsburg (oh, & Costco!!).

*ALL Skaters must sign the skate waiver and wear a wrist band. FULL protective gear (helmet, wrist-guards, elbow & knee guards) is highly recommended. Helmets & wrist-guards are REQUIRED (this is YOUR responsibility).

Instead of a Sunday afternoon skate, come meet us at the Central Park Band Shell & watch or join-in with the Central Park Dance Skaters (blades welcome), local slalomers, do a couple of laps, or just hang out, relax & people-watch. You’ve earned it!!

We’ll announce an escort from the front of the hotel.

Distance: 10 min skate

Directions:

At least you don’t have to wear those helmets and wrist-guards anymore!!!