A new skate park in Riverhead? Town and nonprofit seek to make a dream reality

Could Riverhead Town build a new state-of-the-art skate park? 

That’s certainly the hope of a new nonprofit group formed in memory of Baiting Hollow native Wesley Dean Ackley, a regular at the Stotzky Park skate park who successfully advocated for the town to remove the fee to use the skate park. The town dedicated the skate park to Ackley in 2023 after he died at the age of 27 from a rare type of cancer.

Ackley’s friends and family formed the nonprofit, called The Dexus Project — named after a word Ackley invented which was accepted into the slang word and phrase website Urban Dictionary — in the hopes of fundraising enough to restore and improve the skate park. Now, almost two years after Ackley’s death, those plans have become even more ambitious: create an entirely new skate park that could cater to skaters of all skill levels.

“With a well-made, challenging skate park we can raise Olympic level skateboarders right here in Riverhead,” said Chris Patti, 30, a skater and lifelong friend of Ackley’s, who is leading the fundraising effort. 

Patti discussed the organization’s plans with the Town Board at its work session on Thursday. A new skate park created in Ackley’s name would “give his legacy and the youth of Riverhead what they deserve” and usher in a new “golden age” for local youth, Patti said.

Patti said he experienced the “ultimate upbringing in Riverhead” and spent countless hours at the skate park, which provided him with a “unique experience.” The skate park was both a creative outlet and a training facility where he honed his skating skills, Patti said. It served as a “blueprint” for his future, he said. 

“It showed me how to respect those who dedicate so much of themselves to something and learn from them in return,” he said.

Patti said the skate park previously catered to mid-level skaters, but not low- and expert-level skaters — forcing many to go elsewhere to improve their skills. Several ramps and other features of the skate park that made it more challenging were removed in 2016, Patti said. 

The group is working with American Ramp company to create a cement skate park — which would require fewer repairs compared to the current park, Patti said. The current skatepark’s ramps are made of pre-fabricated materials that break down over time, some of which deteriorated and became “too dangerous,” Superintendent Raymond Coyne said.

Patti said the small group of family and friends has raised more than $23,000 from over 220 donors through GoFundMe. The group has also collaborated with local businesses to fundraise and has attended local events to promote the skate park revitalization plan. The group recently started The Dexus Project to receive larger donations, Patti said.

“In a perfect world, we would spend a million on the skate park altogether,” Patti said when asked by Supervisor Tim Hubbard how much the park would cost. “But it can be done in phases. Perhaps we break it into two phases or three phases.” A public skatepark in Montauk — one of the “best in the country” — cost roughly $1.4 million, Patti said. 

The land being eyed by Patti for the new skate park is owned by Suffolk County. It was acquired by the county in 2001 for parkland under its Community Greenways Program. It is just east of Stotzky Park, right on Columbus Avenue. Coyne said the property is a “great location” that the department was previously considering for park projects, including new soccer fields.

The land being within a low income area could present more grant opportunities, Patti said. He has met with the town’s Community Development Department — which is responsible for pursuing grants for the town — to locate grant opportunities for the skatepark. One grant opportunity, he said, is through a nonprofit called The Skatepark Project, founded by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. 

Council Member Ken Rothwell said he sees the need for the new skatepark. The town struggles with maintaining its parks, he said, and a cement skate park would need little maintenance. “It sounds very, very expensive, but I think through multiple grant opportunities, to fundraising efforts, I think we can get there,” he said.

Rothwell said he wants the board to pass a resolution to allow the Community Development Department to apply for grants and seek funding for the project.

“I think anything that gives children an opportunity to get out of the house, get outside and get away from boredom and then drugs and other trouble…I’m totally for it,” Council Member Denise Merrifield said. “ And I think this is a great idea.”