Verdugo Skate Park
Today Verdugo Skate Park became unattended - and what happened here this morning breaks my heart. There are already dudes in their late -30’s showing up in crocks with spray paint cans scoping tag spots. They weren’t even here to skate, and they actually left when the skaters wouldn’t give them space in the bowls.
I love graffiti and all urban art but skate bowls are surfaces designed for transition skateboarding. They aren’t meant to be painted over. This is a surface for us in the community to enjoy a sport and graffiti ruins that for everyone.
When these dudes showed up in their nice Ford truck to vandalize Verdugo Skate Park it actually just made me sad because I’m starting to worry we can’t have anything nice in Los Angeles anymore.
It’s not rich or poor - it’s clearly an engrained lack of civic virtue at all levels of the income bracket in this city. Just because something becomes “free” doesn’t mean someone has the right to start painting all over it or littering all over it or destroying it.
End of rant please go skate Verdugo Skate Park. I called the city’s Recreation Department and they’re going to try to up security at the park, but at the end of the day we have to police ourselves. We could use your help!