New skatepark opens for business
Warwick. Located behind two ballfields, the village’s new facility features a concrete bowl and a street course.
| 21 Oct 2025 | 09:23
Warwick Skatepark Initiative (WSI) members Patrick Tyler, Bill Lindberg and Lynn Ruvolo, Trustee Mary Collura, Mayor Michael Newhard, WSI member Steve Wanczowski, park liaison Carly Foster, WSI members Dave Gatz, Donna Kaminski, and County Legislator Barry Cheney. (
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Located between Veterans Memorial Park and Albert Wisner Public Library, the new Robert J. Newhard Skatepark is accessible from either side by gravel pathways. (
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Joined by fellow elected officials, dignitaries, members of Warwick Skatepark Initiative and others last Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in Warwick, Mayor Michael Newhard officially opened the village’s new skatepark.
“Good afternoon and thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the opening of the Robert J. Newhard Skatepark,” Newhard said, referring to the park named after his father. “[This remarkable facility is] truly a labor of love on all accounts. The Warwick Skatepark Initiative grew out of Project Knomad, Game of Skate and a memorial to Ian Sharp. We can thank Donna Hirsch for her love, strength and commitment.”
The original Robert J. Newhard Skatepark was built in 1999. Named after Newhard who was a trustee at the time, it was located partly in a flood zone and constructed primarily of wood, so its heavily used structures needed to be replaced. Officials said the new skatepark, designed by Pillar Design Studio, features a concrete bowl and street course and will be among the most modern skateparks on the East Coast, offering a safe, fun and lasting space for skaters of all ages.
Fundraising for the new skatepark – located in back of two ballfields, the snack bar and batting cages on the right side of the park – began in 2019 through merchandise sales and a commemorative brick paver program. Warwick Skatepark Initiative secured a $650,000 endowment from the Vincent & Pauline Kosuga Foundation, along with a major in-kind site preparation donation from Ground Control Excavating. North Carolina-based Artisan Skateparks began construction in June, with the project requiring 1,860 20-foot sticks of rebar and 466 cubic yards of concrete.
During his remarks last Saturday, Newhard recognized several individuals and organizations responsible for Warwick’s new skatepark.
“Every group needs leadership and an advocate, and Bill Lindberg has been that and more,” he said. “His positive nature and attention to detail guided us through legal issues and the construction process. Every member of the Skatepark Initiative Team also contributed their time and talent.”
Robert J. Newhard was a trustee when the first skatepark was being built.
“He was the liaison to parks and recreation and a group of skaters, who had been harassed as skating was considered an outsider sport, wanted a place to skateboard,” the mayor said in August. “My dad loved the idea, embraced it and helped these young men come up with a design and place. Sadly, my dad passed away and I was appointed to finish his term, and we built the park. When the process began, they were freshman and when it opened, they were seniors.”
Newhard said pickleball courts will replace the original skate park.