City approves skating rink for VC Park

The city has approved an ice skating rink for Van Cortlandt Park, following Community Board 8’s overwhelming vote in favor of the plan.

Approximately 80 members of the community, including families with young children, showed up to the CB 8 meeting at Manhattan College’s School of Engineering on Corlear Avenue Feb. 2, to express their support for the project.

After hearing public testimony in support of the rink, the board debated the issue and then voted — 20 to four, with six abstentions — to use its advisory role to support the project.

The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee held a public hearing in Manhattan on Monday and, taking CB 8’s approval into consideration, approved a 15-year contract for the rink that is slated to begin welcoming skaters next winter.
Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg first announced his plan for the skating rink a year ago, local politics has dominated the conversation about it. The rink was proposed to open this winter, but a series of setbacks saw that deadline come and go. 

But at the hearing, members of the public framed the discussion as concerning a recreational venue to spend winter nights rather than as a political controversy.
One family held up a yellow banner with the word “Skate” and pictures of ice skates. Seven children were among the 19 community members who testified in favor of the rink, some of them eliciting laughter when enumerating the reasons a rink would be beneficial.

“I play hockey a lot … it takes about 20 minutes to get to Westchester and about two minutes to get here,” said Jack Spencer of Netherland Avenue.

“What’s better than ice skating?” said 13-year-old Skyler Hall.

But just because they were children did not mean some of them weren’t politically connected.

“It would be so much easier if you could just have an ice skating rink here,” said boy scout Eamon McShane, son of board member Damian McShane. 

Eamon said it was his first time speaking in public, but his nerves didn’t get in the way of his message.

“We should all support the ice skating rink,” he said.