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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 3, 2004

Schumer Announces $110,000federal Grant For Dunkirk Skate Park

Dunkirk Police played major role in creating the scenic park, offering area youth a place to enjoy Dunkirk's top youth recreational activity

Last month, Schumer urged Fran Mainella, Director of the National Park Service, to approve Dunkirk's application for the grant

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the National Park Service has awarded the City of Dunkirk a $110,000 matching grant to create a skate park in Wright Park, where playing fields, pavillions, and playgrounds can already be found. The Dunkirk Parks and Recreation Department recently conducted a survey revealing that skating is the number one recreational activity among area youth.

Schumer credited the Dunkirk Police Department for the pivotal role it played in making the skate park a reality. "Young people in Dunkirk will now have a safe and beautiful park to enjoy in-line skating and skateboarding," Schumer said. "The local police used to have to chase skaters away and there was no place for young people to go to enjoy this popular activity. Now, the Dunkirk Police took the initiative to become part of the solution and made this new park a reality."

After local leaders and police officials asked Schumer to help them make the skate park happen, Schumer went to bat for Dunkirk with the National Park Service in support of the federal grant. "The City of Dunkirk Police Department has always been committed to working with youth in the Dunkirk community to provide them with the best possible climate to grow up in," Schumer wrote last month in a letter to Fran Mainella, Director of the National Park Service. "Currently, local youth use roads, driveways, parking lots and other areas for practicing skateboarding maneuvers, causing extremely unsafe circumstances for themselves, drivers and pedestrians. With funding, the City of Dunkirk Police Department will construct a proper facility where young people can be both safe and supervised. I hope their application for funding meets with your approval."

The new skate park will allow in-line skaters and skateboarders a designated, legal space to enjoy this popular activity, and it will enhance the already popular Wright Park.

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