An angel has found the Greenport Skate Park, after years of searching for funding to restore the village-owned park on Moore’s Lane.
Rena Wilhelm, President of the non-profit Greenport Skate Park Inc., announced on the group’s Facebook page in early April that Dominick Marcoccia of Marco Masonry Corp. in Aquebogue, has agreed to rebuild the park.
The skate park, built nearly three decades ago, had fallen into disrepair about a decade ago, when a then-11-year-old boy, Dane Jensen, asked his mother to share photos of damage and graffiti at the skate park on the Let’s Talk — Village of Greenport Facebook page.
He spurred a new wave of civic-minded residents to form the non-profit and hold fundraising events at the park.
By mid-2024, the group had raised about $100,000 for the project, but they were expecting it to cost upwards of $1 million.
They had hired a design studio to create a rendering of what they hoped to build, keeping the park’s 12-foot vertical half-pipe, which is currently its biggest draw.
The image, which the group pinned to the top of its social media pages, caught the attention of Mr. Marcoccia. He had worked as a subcontractor at the Montauk Skate Park, which was recently renovated and is now a popular attraction.
“Before we had the plans rendered, we did a survey of what kind of elements you would want in the park, and we got this gigantic wish list, which we gave to a park designer,” said Ms. Wilhelm this week. Mr. Marcoccia had sent her several messages since saying he liked the design but there were issues with it, but she didn’t realize at that time that he was offering to help.
“We were just stuck, pushing this gigantic boulder up a mountain,” she said. “I thought I would have to pass the torch, because I can’t do this the rest of my life. But then he reached out and said ‘I’d really like to help you guys.'”
Mr. Marcoccia met earlier this year with board members, and said he could do the work for a not too much more than the $100,000 the group had raised.
“He’s really doing this out of the goodness of his heart,” said Ms. Wilhelm.
The next step will be to present their plans to the Greenport Village Board — Ms. Wilhelm said she’s put in a request for a discussion at the board’s April 17 work session.
If the village approves, the work would likely begin in the fall and take around three months.
Ms. Wilhelm, owner of The Weathered Barn, said she was still in disbelief about this turn of events when a regular customer, local builder Bill Hoermann, came into her store and said he’d just been at a cement convention at Mohegan Sun when her name came up.
Turns out, he’d been talking with Mr. Marcoccia about his plan to help the skate park.
“He said ‘you couldn’t pick a better person to build your park. He’s a phenomenal builder,'” said Ms. Wilhelm.
As skate parks throughout the region are renovated, with the new park open in Montauk and plans in the works for revamped parks in Hampton Bays and Riverhead, “people aren’t driving out to Greenport for a crumbling park. But hundreds of people are going to Montauk,” she said.
But now, with help from an unforseen angel, Greenport may soon get the park of its dreams.
“Despite limited support, we’ve worked tirelessly to bring back the heart of our community and transform our park into a thriving destination for skateboarders, skaters, scooter riders, BMX athletes, and more. Our goal: not only to engage our local community but to inspire the next generation of park users,” said Ms. Wilhelm in the Facebook announcement. “The road hasn’t been easy. When we received a jaw-dropping estimate from a renowned skate park builder, it felt like fundraising was out of reach. But we didn’t give up.”
“Those who know me know the blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into this project,” she said. “But it’s because of my amazing team, the support of our community, and our dedicated mayor that I’m finally going to see this through.”
The group is now planning a fundraiser for the park on Saturday, June 21, National Go Skateboarding Day.
Ms. Wilhelm said the fundraiser will likely include a skating contest, professional photography of skaters, a food truck, a dj and an art show. We’ll have more details when they become available.
More details about how to help the skate park can be found at greenportskatepark.org.
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Rena has been carrying this project for some time but it looks like Mr. Marcoccia is indeed a community angel.