Skateboarders took matters into their own hands on Memorial Day, clearing sand from the skate park on Venice Beach that Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration had filled in over a month ago to enforce coronavirus “social distancing.”
Garcetti closed the skate parks in March. As Breitbart News reported, several skate parks were filled in with sand by local authorities in Southern California in mid-April. Local surf magazine Shacked happened to be on the scene at Venice Beach when L.A. Parks and Recreation employees began shoveling and bulldozing sand into the skate park there, too.
Others also posted photos and videos:
But on Monday, with state restrictions easing and the beach itself reopened for recreation, the skaters struck back.
Wielding pickaxes and shovels, brooms and buckets, skaters hauled the sand out of the park themselves. Young and old, men and women, black and white, the volunteers were a picture of Los Angeles — as they defied the city’s orders.
“By mid-afternoon on Memorial Day, the park had been completely cleared of the sand … and boarders performed tricks in the bowls well into the evening,” TMZ reported. Police officers reportedly stood by, and did not interfere.
Photos captured by Getty Images appeared to show skateboarders making earlier, short-lived attempts at removing the sand.
Skateboarders clean the skate park that was previously filled with sand by the city to avoid skaters gathering, in Venice Beach, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, May 13, 2020. – The County only allows activities such as running, walking, swimming and surfing with sunbathing and volleyball not allowed. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the action later became more organized and energetic (the tweet below inaccurately blames Gov. Gavin Newsom for filling in the skate parks; it was local authorities that did so, though he supported closing the beaches):
California skaters are taking back the skate parks that Newsom filled with sand.
The Government had trucks ruin them by filling them with sand but didn’t even bother to clean up their mess. pic.twitter.com/l5DNqiDlsa
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 26, 2020
Garcetti has kept many coronavirus restrictions in place in Los Angeles. County officials say many amenities will likely continue to be closed, and many other restrictions will remain in force, until July 4th weekend.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.