Rooftop ice skating returning to New York
The city will be getting its first rooftop ice-skating rink since the closing of the original Sky Rink on the West Side in the 1990s.
City Ice Pavilion project had its groundbreaking Thursday atop a Sleepy’s Mattress store in Long Island City, on 32nd Place. It is expected to open in October 2008.
Jill Feldman, spokesperson for the rink, to be called City Ice Pavilion, said that Long Island City presented a promising venue.
“With so many real estate developments going up in the area, there will be more families and they saw an opportunity to build a community ice rink.”
The City Ice Pavilion will have a NHL-sized ice rink and an air dome to protect it from bad weather. It will have public skating, an ice-skating school to teach both hockey and figure skating, and ice-skating lessons for both children and adults. There will also be free skating lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays for community groups.
Local high schools and intramural leagues will also have access to the rink.
The developer, Ekstein Development, builds apartments, office buildings, and recreational facilities. They are currently developing condominiums in Long Island City as well.
The old “grungy” and much-missed Sky Rink was on a much higher location, the top floor of a 16-story building. Check out this Gothamist comments thread for memories of the old joint. And click here to see the last remaining vestige of the old Sky Rink, a fading sign that since this photo was taken has been obscured by large advertising banners.
-- Simone Herbin
