GardenSK8 Still Rebuilding After Storm Damage

Todd Schwartz, owner of on Changebridge Road in Pine Brook, believes skateboarding is more than a sport. It’s a lifestyle.

He opened his indoor skatepark in 2008 and his life has been a roller coaster ride since then.

“There are more participants in skateboarding than in little league baseball,” Schwartz said. “There are 12.1 million Americans skating. You can’t go to a house without seeing a skateboard somewhere.”

Schwartz grew up in Montville and began skating at age six. He said it was a popular scene in Montville back then, with half-pipes in friends’ backyards. But after advocating in 2007 for the township to build a more formal skatepark unsuccessfully, Schwartz decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I didn’t want my son to be 25 by the time we had a skatepark, so I said, 'If they’re not gonna do it, I’m gonna do it.' So three months later I opened the park up,” Schwartz said.

GardenSK8 turned out to be more than a skatepark. Schwartz calls it a cultural center. He worked with an artist to orchestrate a Graffiti Art Show that brought in 800 people. Colorful artwork gives the park an urban hip-hop theme.

GardenSK8 has been on MTV’s "True Life" and "Sucker Free Sundays," truTV, Nickelodeon and reality shows. For several weeks this season, a national television network has been shooting a new kids show that will air this fall. Schwartz’s nine-year-old son Bennet plays one of the characters. Schwartz provides stunt people for television and film, and acts as an agent for his son and other professional skaters.

“I’m known as the go-to guy for people that have gifted young skateboarders under the age of 12,” he said. 

But Schwartz said skateboarding is not a sport for making big money.

“[Skateboard] companies do not compensate the pros who ride for them, anywhere near what you think they would. The money comes from sponsors like Nokia or Verizon," he said.

Considering the inclement weather in New Jersey, the number of kids and the sport's popularity, Schwartz said an indoor skatepark should be a booming business. In addition, Schwartz said skating is great for kids with learning disabilities — anything from Asperger’s to high-functioning autism. But Schwartz said his business does not make much money. His wife went back to work to help make ends meet.

In addition to he and his wife both being injured last summer in a motorcycle accident, the business was hit hard by the tropical storm that followed Hurricane Irene. The park got badly flooded and incurred extensive damage. Leaks from before the storm were exacerbated. Part of the roof rotted away. Wood and metal equipment rotted and rusted. Mold grew on the sheetrock. The parking lot was a lake. FEMA did not provide assistance. Schwartz had to close the park.

See a video about the park's recovery from the flooding here.

He submitted an insurance claim, excluding movable objects, supplies, and equipment. Mold remediation is needed and specialized ramps need to be built. He has yet to see any insurance money from the landlord's carrier. There are other tenants in the building, but their needs weren't as complicated, he said. 

“The dance studio and the music studio are the landlord’s responsibility. So he took the estimates, used his own guys and did the floor and mirrors himself. He can’t do that here. Indoor skateparks are made of wood. It’s a ship inside out. We’re talking a six-figure number,” he said.

Schwartz said he lost a lot of business and had to rebuild from scratch. He's still not done. 

“I missed back-to-school and the last two weeks of summer camp. I had to refund everybody’s money. We missed Christmas. All classes, camps and clinics were closed. I have less supplies to sell than ever. All that was gone,” he said.

Schwartz had a grand reopening on Halloween weekend and volunteers helped clean up and start rebuilding.

“We had an art show where everyone came together and redid the park,” Schwartz said. "Artists came and donated murals and hand painted skateboards. Professional skateboarders donated hats and autographed skateboards that were auctioned. We had lots of volunteers, customers with kids. They helped clean up. It was like a community effort,” he said.

Schwartz is passionate about the park and his business. He created something that wasn't in the area before, and the kids keep coming back. 

“Garden SK8 is more than skateboarding, Schwartz said. “It’s art, music and more. Skateboarding has always been a lifestyle sport, just like surfing and snowboarding. You carry it with you all the time. It’s the clothes, the music that evolves over generations. It’s a place where the parents can hang out in the lounge on leather seats,” he said.