NYC Skating Links
General Info
• Empire Skate Club announcements on Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon — Stay Informed!
• NYCSK8, the New York City Inline Skating Guide — Old but still useful
Group Skates
• We Skate NJ Monday Night Skate (IG) — Seasonal (May-Nov); 7:00 p.m. from Riverwalk Place in West New York
• Empire Tuesday Night Skate — Year-round; 8:00 p.m. from Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza, Fifth Ave. at East 60th St.
• NYC Wednesday Night Skate (FB) — Officially seasonal (Apr-Oct), unofficially year-round; 8:00 p.m. from Union Square, Broadway at East 14th St.
• Empire Weekend Skates — Seasonal; starting places and times vary — Check the Empire FB page for the announcements
• Empire's Big Apple Roll — First weekend of August; four days of group skates and other activities
Aggressive and Freestyle Skating
• NYC Parks Dept. — Locations of and regulations at skateparks in city parks
• Skatedex — Boarders' list of skateparks
• NYCSK8 — List of skateparks
Dance Skating
• Central Park Dance Skaters Association — Seasonal (Apr-Oct); weekend and holiday afternoons on Central Park's "Dead Road"
• BKLYN Skates (FB) — Evenings in Brooklyn, days and locations vary
Law
• NY Governor's Traffic Safety Committee — Cycling and skating laws and FAQs
• NYCSK8 — State and city skate law discussion
Lessons
• Central Park Skate Patrol & Skate School — Seasonal (Apr-Oct); free stopping lessons Saturday afternoons; private and group lessons weekend mornings
• SkateIA certified instructor search — NYC, Brooklyn, Bronx
Roller Derby
• New York Shock Exchange (FB)
Roller Hockey
• NYC Parks Dept. — Locations of roller hockey areas in city parks
• NYCSK8 — List of roller hockey organizations and venues
Roller Rinks
• Manhattan — Riverbank State Park — Seasonal; outdoor rink at Riverside Drive at 145th St., Hamilton Heights
• Brooklyn — LeFrak Center — Seasonal; outdoor rink in Prospect Park
• Brooklyn — Pier 2 Roller Rink — Seasonal; outdoor rink in Brooklyn Bridge Park
• Brooklyn — Xanadu Roller Arts — New indoor wood-floor roller venue on Starr St. in Bushwick.
Skate Merchants
• Manhattan — Paragon Sports — General sporting goods with some skates — East 18th St., Flatiron District
• Manhattan — Them Skates (IG) — Aggressive skate gear — Essex St., Lower East Side
• Brooklyn — Panda Sport — General sporting goods with some skates — Fifth Ave., Bay Ridge
• Queens — Kinetic Expression — Inline specialists, by appointment only — Sunnyside
• Queens — West Side Skate and Stick — (Roller) hockey specialists — City Ice Pavilion, Long Island City
• Queens — Dick's Sporting Goods — General sporting goods with some skates — Woodhaven Blvd., Glendale
Slalom
• Manhattan — Bandshell Coneheads — Weekend afternoons at Central Park's Naumburg Bandshell
Speedskating
• Empire Speed (FB) — Seasonal (Apr-Oct); trains on Central Park loop 1-2 weekday evenings per week
• Brooklyn Speed Team (FB) — Seasonal (Mar-Oct); trains on Prospect Park loop Sunday mornings
• NYC Skate Marathon & New York 100k — September on Prospect Park loop
Big Apple Roll

The Empire Skate Club's premier event each year is the Big Apple Roll (BAR), an exciting five-day extravaganza in early August of group skates, social events, and adventures exploring and experiencing New York City on skates.
BAR 2025 was a blast, but alas it is past. We look forward to seeing you and our other skate friends at BAR 2026, tentatively scheduled for Jul 30 - Aug 2, 2026.
