The New York Times - USA (2020-06-28)

THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020 AR 13

Laying Their Claim on the City

Video Stills by SAM YOUKILIS and Text by ANTONIO de LUCA

As the coronavirus brought New York to a standstill, vehicle and pedestrian traffic in

Manhattan had all but vanished. Unfettered access to normally crowded spaces was

unimaginable just a few months ago, but in May, places like Times Square, SoHo and the

financial district were virtually empty. For many skateboarders, this time of vacancy was

also a moment of opportunity, even of liberation — what skating has always been about.

“When we skate, we claim spaces,” Yasmeen Wilkerson, 22, said.

Left, Yasmeen

Wilkerson in

Chinatown. Center,

Israel Adonis at the

Oculus at the World

Trade Center.

Above, Alexis

Sablone on

Broadway in SoHo.

Right, Shawn

Powers in the

financial district.

Above, Adam Zhu

under the

Manhattan Bridge

in Chinatown. Left,

Savio Zigbi-Johnson

at the Guggenheim

Museum on the

Upper East Side.

Right, next stop for
Stephanie Tonnoir is
Grand Central
Terminal, and the
track looks clear. At
far right is Cole
Evelev in an eerily
quiet Times Square.

Surfacing

A VISUAL SERIES ON THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND LIFE