Empire Skate Club of New York

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

Gotham 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

Big Apple Roll 2025 graphic

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.

Photo of a Hudson River sunset in Battery Park City with a half dozen skaters rolling by