BY ANGELA MATUA
Families in St. Albans rolled their way around St. Albans Park on Saturday during Family Skate Day, which was sponsored by Councilman I. Daneek Miller.
NYC Skate Mobile, a mobile recreation van run by the NYC Parks Department that provides helmets, safety equipment and basic instruction in skating, catered to the 200 children and family members at the park.
“We’re having an awesome time meeting our neighbors and getting some much-needed exercise,” Miller said. “The weather is providing a perfect backdrop to help get our residents out to the park today, many of whom tried skating for the first time. I’m happy to have been a part of this effort to promote healthy habits for people of all ages.”
In addition to skating, families were treated to free snacks, carnival games, a bouncy house, face painting and a DJ.
Candace Prince-Modeste, a spokesperson for Miller, said that she has not seen an event of this magnitude at St. Albans Park in several years. The event was held not only to bond community members, but also to promote health and wellness, she said.
“We haven’t seen an event like this in a few years so people really took advantage of it,” Prince-Modeste said.
Kevin Livingston, founder and president of local nonprofit 100 Suits for 100 Men said he sponsored the event to create opportunities for families to bond.
“As a leader in the community we need to bring back the festive, fun, family entertainment,” Livingston said. “I’m glad we were able to facilitate that and I think that one of the prized moments for me was to see a father and a son bond by the father helping him learn how to skate. It was priceless the way they were bonding and I was glad that I was able to create that opportunity to skate.”
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