Sunday Wants Your Kids... To Stay In Buffalo
As I was walking over to Comfort Zone Café earlier, I ran into JP Gillespie, co-owner of Sunday Skate and BMX. JP told me that he and his partner Jim Cielencki were expanding into the former Sweet and Dirty location next door. So after grabbing a cup of coffee at Comfort Zone (where four of the customers held skateboards in their hands) I stopped over to see what Sunday’s expansion plans were.
JP told me that he and Jim had always regretted the fact that they had not taken the opportunity to snag the space next door from the get-go. “When we heard that the storefront was going to be available again, we jumped at the opportunity,” JP told me. “The addition doubles the size of our business. We’re going to be opening up the wall between the storefronts in order to have one space. The skating scene here is bigger than Buffalo. Sunday Team Riders like Jake Donnelly (who was out on in front of the store skating at that exact moment) are making names for themselves outside Buffalo. Kids are seeing that Buffalo is a place to skate… they don’t have to go to other cities anymore to make a name for themselves. Our riders are staying here and skating.”
The same thing applies to the BMX scene. More and more, local riders are ending up in national publications… and that is good business for Sunday. The corner of Potomac and Elmwood has become a haven for kids who are into the skate and BMX culture. These are not just sports that we’re talking about – they are a way of life for young people. And if that means that kids are sticking around to skate and ride, the businesses that cater to those trends are going to see results.
Now if we can get that darn skate park built in downtown Buffalo. If you are aware of a business that would like to help fund a downtown skate/BMX park (the total amount will be around $100,000), send me an email. Just think of the naming rights and the chance to help keep even more young people staying in the area.
FYI: While visiting the new Sunday space, Canadian photographer Brooks Reynolds was using the temporary blank canvas as a photo studio.
Sunday Skate/BMX Shop 587 Potomac Ave. Buffalo, NY 14222 (716)362-1523
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Comment Options
Hoss
If you build it, they will come,
Oh, how I wish I had 100 grand to spare.
Congrats on the expansion JP.
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Joshua
Believe it or not but I have the perfect spot for a skate park. I saw kids skateboarding here, with some little clean up efforts it is ready to go....PM me for more information.
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Joshua
Believe it or not but I have the perfect spot for a skate park. I saw kids skateboarding here, with some little clean up efforts it is ready to go....PM me for more information.
Report this
Gotime
Hats off to JP, Jim and crew. My son is an avid skate boarder and he and his friends have always looked up to JP and hold him up in “rock star” status. He has set an example to a lot of kids; that you can make a living doing something you love. I will admit I wasn’t crazy about all the time he spent skateboarding during his teenage years until I started realizing a few things about boarders: None of them have a ounce of fat on them, they have learned to compete with each other, they have seen parts of the city that I never knew existed, and they are amazing athletes. They have great camaraderie with each other. Skate boarding gives kids the skill and encouragement to participate in other great sports such as skiing and snowboarding.
They also have been loyal to JP’s Sunday Shop. They would never go to a mall or big retail store to buy wheels, bearings or decks. One Christmas shopping season my son handed me his Christmas list and 90% of it was set aside at Sunday. I walked in and ran into the rest of the family buying for him also.
My son is now a freshman at UB and doing well for himself (still skating). I remember those tough teenage years and all the time he spent “hanging out” at the corner of Elmwood and Potomac and realized he was in good hands with JP and his associates. He was always telling me “JP told us this, JP did That, JP, JP JP….” The things he told him turned out to be great lessons in life.
My favorite skateboarding story I tell is when my son and three or four of his friends would stay over night at my house when they were 13 or 14 and would beg me to take them for a midnight skate. We would load up in my car and I would drive them to all the hot skating spots in the city that were less patrolled in the middle of the night: City hall, the city court building, the ball park, Channel two on Delaware. They would skate until a security guard would chase them away and they would run or skate to my running car and we would “Bail out”. Part of me was living up to my “cool dad” status, the other part was having an absolute riot!. Driving the getaway car …Priceless.
Lets build that skatepark downtown! Name it SUNDAY.
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Gotime
Hats off to JP, Jim and crew. My son is an avid skate boarder and he and his friends have always looked up to JP and hold him up in “rock star” status. He has set an example to a lot of kids; that you can make a living doing something you love. I will admit I wasn’t crazy about all the time he spent skateboarding during his teenage years until I started realizing a few things about boarders: None of them have a ounce of fat on them, they have learned to compete with each other, they have seen parts of the city that I never knew existed, and they are amazing athletes. They have great camaraderie with each other. Skate boarding gives kids the skill and encouragement to participate in other great sports such as skiing and snowboarding.
They also have been loyal to JP’s Sunday Shop. They would never go to a mall or big retail store to buy wheels, bearings or decks. One Christmas shopping season my son handed me his Christmas list and 90% of it was set aside at Sunday. I walked in and ran into the rest of the family buying for him also.
My son is now a freshman at UB and doing well for himself (still skating). I remember those tough teenage years and all the time he spent “hanging out” at the corner of Elmwood and Potomac and realized he was in good hands with JP and his associates. He was always telling me “JP told us this, JP did That, JP, JP JP….” The things he told him turned out to be great lessons in life.
My favorite skateboarding story I tell is when my son and three or four of his friends would stay over night at my house when they were 13 or 14 and would beg me to take them for a midnight skate. We would load up in my car and I would drive them to all the hot skating spots in the city that were less patrolled in the middle of the night: City hall, the city court building, the ball park, Channel two on Delaware. They would skate until a security guard would chase them away and they would run or skate to my running car and we would “Bail out”. Part of me was living up to my “cool dad” status, the other part was having an absolute riot!. Driving the getaway car …Priceless.
Lets build that skatepark downtown! Name it SUNDAY.
Report this
Joshua
Believe it or not but I have the perfect spot for a skate park. I saw kids skateboarding here, with some little clean up efforts it is ready to go....PM me for more information.
Report this
stephenjames716
gotime....there needs to be more parents like you, great post.
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Hoss
So is the city holding out on the Skate Plaza because of the money?
Could a tax deductible outfit be organized, so individuals and corporations could donate to get the initial structure built quasi-privately?
If that was the case, I bet the money could be raised. "Many hands make light work".
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driz716
Someone please pony up the $$ for this skate park!!
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lulu
OK. I posted earlier but included a link (cause for refusing my comment perhaps?) so I will again state that the Tony Hawk Foundation provides funding and guidance for developing skate parks. There are also many other funding sources, though most focus on skate parks in West Coast Communities.
Hope this one makes it to the thread.
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ElmwoodBoy
Put a Skate Park in a City Park, paid for just like basketball courts, golf courses, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and playgrounds. It is quality of life affair just like all the other amenities we have. Given the youth-drain here, it is a priority to enhance and attract young people to stay here.
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johnsodc
Why do police officers keep harassing teenagers with skateboards at Cazenovia Park? Is skateboarding illegal? There are several businesses in Western New York that sell skateboards. There are no public skate parks in Buffalo like other cities. Most kids in this area cannot afford to spend $10 plus to get to Extreme Wheels and skate there. Yet I have heard of several incidences (one just happened today, May 31) of police officers stopping and questioning and harrassing skateboarders at the park. My son was clearly harassed by an officer about a year ago when he was 15. He was in the park with his skateboard, he wasn't even riding it, just carrying it and the office swore at him, pretended he was going to hit him, searched his pockets, and pulled out his wallet and cell phone. Wouild the officers prefer that the teenagers skateboard on the streets rather than at Cazenovia Park? Skateboarding is not a gang activity. I am so annoyed at how these boys are treated. I'm glad they are skateboarding rather than joining local gangs.
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