The view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Banks. All photos: MORINformed

The Brooklyn Banks. Nuff said, yous guys better understand the importance of the place. If you don't know, yous better take the gabagool (some kind of Italian sandwich meat) out of your ears, and ask somebody. Cause, guy, if you think yous going to be able to skate them for the next fwhore years, yous can forgetaboutit.

That's my best New Yorker impression, it sucks, I know, but as they say in the Big Apple, I'm just a "So Cal Wussbag." One thing is for sure though, this So Cal Wussbag knows how important the legacy of the Brooklyn Banks are to New York skateboarding. It's just a shame the legendary skate spot sits directly under an even more legendary construction. The Brooklyn bridge is over a hundred years old, and needs a facelift, so guess what? Skateboarding on the Manhattan side of the bridge (the Banks are actually in Manhattan) is going to have to be put on hold for a few years.

There is one positive thing to remember though, the Banks are not dead. They are just going to have to go into a four year hibernation. That leaves us skateboarders, especially the NYC guys, with a few objectives. First and foremost, make sure the amount of the time the city has said this construction is going to last, is the amount of time it is going to last. We are in a recession, and construction tends to slow down in hard times. Also, I've watched the Sopranos enough to know there are some heavy unions over there that have ways of getting their way. If they want the job to slow down, it is going to slow down. That is, unless you want to "sleep with the fishes," or be buried under the new Giants stadium, that they are currently in the process of building.

Secondly, and maybe most importantly, it has to be made sure that the Banks are kept skateable. We all know the city has no issues with steam rolling the whole area. It's not like they haven't already changed over the years. Watch Jamie Thomas' opening run in Welcome to Hell, then watch I don't know, the new Zoo York video, which has to have some Banks footage in it. Shit, I was at the premier, but for some reason my memory is a little fuzzy. Anyway, watch some recent footage from the Banks, and you'll for sure notice some differences in the geography of the spot. That's because a few years ago the city tried to get rid of the place, but because of the efforts of the NYC skate scene, the Banks were saved. The spot became a city sanctioned skatepark. It was a DIY effort led by Five Boro skateboards general, Steve Rodriguez (pictured above with the megaphone). He was like that guy who stood in front of that tank in Tienanmen Square, but unlike in China, Steve didn't get steam rolled, and neither did the Banks.

Now, fast-forward a few years and the Banks have been on their game. I was at the last Back to Banks, a grassroots, free-entry-to-all contest at the spot, put on by: Steve, 5 Boro, Volcom, Emerica, World Industries, Bones, Skateboarder magazine, Red Bull, Metro Plus and Tech Deck. I've never seen so many people at the place, it was one of the coolest skate contests I've been a part of (check out Colin Provost above with a blunt on the barrier at the last Back to the Banks). It just goes to show how many people skate the place, and what it means to the people of New York. It's sad to think there won't be another Back To The Banks gathering for at least four years.

So once again the Brooklyn Banks are under attack, and need the help of the creators that inhabit them. The Brooklyn Bridge needs renovations, so the century old pathway, and the safety of the people that use it, are going to be the number one priority of the people of New York. That leaves the skateboarders of the city to hope this happens as soon as possible, with the least amount of changes. We'll see.

Take a little trip up the California coast to Wallenberg with the Quiksilver skate team. This is from a few months back when the skate industry converged on the famous San Francisco skate spot for Thrasher's Back To The Berg contest. Check it out:

Have you ever seen a more beautiful bowl??

The next skateboarding prodigy will be from China. With the worlds largest population, at roughly 1,325,639,982 people, China has the odds in their favor. Remember that circus acrobat guy from Ocean's Eleven? Imagine him on a vert ramp. Anyone see the opening ceremonies from the Beijing Olympics? Imagine that level of discipline and practice applied to skateboarding. If the chinese government can make us a Yao Ming, why not make us a combination of shaun white/tony hawk/kelly slater? The only thing holding back a potential Chinese Skateboarding Domination is the fact that nobody in China skates... Well, until now. Woodward is almost finished with a $4 million dollar indoor park in Beijing. As with everything else ive seen and heard about Beijing, this thing is pretty dang impressive. Theres a variety of vert, and a ridiculous pool being finished right now. If this park can generate a solid skate scene, we could be seeing some serious kung fu flavor in the world of skateboarding very soon. Check the pictures, courtesy of KickerClub. (and thanks to Clancy for the heads up).

It's that time of year again. Cruise over to www.thrashermagazine.com and make your vote for the 2009 Skater of the Year, aka the S.O.T.Y. In my opinion it's a two man race between Malto and Leo, Sean Malto and Leo Romero that is. Just like last November's presidential election it's your duty to vote, but unlike that presidential election you do not have to be a U.S. citizen, 18 years-old, or registered to vote, so go cast your vote.

Pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler may be a master of the street course, but he's still a in the ways of the street. According to a press release issued by the Orange County's District Attorney's office, Sheckler's Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Mercuro, 36, was arrested last Friday and charged with embezzling more than $365,000 from the skate star. Mercuro handled two of Sheckler's business units, including Ryan Sheckler Rips LLC and Sheckler Merch 2.

Mercuro allegedly had access to those corporate accounts from March of 2008 to April of 2009, and he's accused of transfering funds into his personal account and the account of his wife and a friend during that period. These actions were only recently discovered when the suspicious transfers were noticed during a review of the company's finances.

If convicted, Mercuro faces up to six years and eight months in prison. He will be arraigned today on two felony counts of grand theft. While the skate community was reeling on the news, pro athletes being victims of embezzlement is hardly a new phenomenon. They're seen as easy targets for this kind of abuse. The big surprise for most skaters is that somebody could hardly notice that much money missing.

Something tells us Sheckler will be alright.

Today's twit, or tweet, or whatever ever you call those stupid narcissistic things. Actually, we're going to call them twits for obvious reasons. Anyway, I searched Twitter long and hard for a nice stimulated, I mean stimulating twit, and in the recent Twitter activities I found not one, but two. So, I actually found a nice set of twits, or a rack of twits if you will, or even a nice voluptuous pair of twits if you prefer.

Today's twits are both crailtap related the first comes from @therealcrailtap and the second from @erickoston.

Twit 1: @therealcrailtap - "Cory Kennedy is nuts!" With a link to the video below.


In case you don't know that be a switch 360 frontfoot impossible.

Twit 2: @erickoston - "If hating is your job, then I pretty much have a full time occupation for you." I guess that be for anyone who gives him shit about his recent deals with Nike and Oakley.

With Thrasher's Skater of the Year (S.O.T.Y.) soon to be announced they thought they'd give you a little classic footage of why The Boss, aka Andrew Reynolds won it in 1998. Check it out:

In a move that makes total sense Jamie Thomas has joined the skate team over at the ever growing Aussie clothing brand, INsight. Oh yeah, the reason it makes total sense. Well, you see last July INsight and Black Box Distribution, a company Jamie owns, inked a deal that gave US distribution responsibilities over to Black Box. So, if you're overseeing the distribution of a brand, why not ride for them right? Hell yeah, INsight makes some best clothes in the industry and I'm glad to see their skate team just got that much better. Jamie's a legend on a board and in a boardroom, can't wait to see where things go from here.

Here's some bonus footie from the latest release from Nike, Debacle. Check out Justin Brock and the Check Crew getting their rip on.