Portsmouth NH skatepark renovated at Greenleaf Rec Center seacoastonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from seacoastonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PORTSMOUTH Thanks in large part to the efforts of a small group of high school students, Portsmouth may soon see a new skate park at the city stump dump.
Portsmouth High School seniors Seamus Durkin and Oliver Sieve worked with City Councilor Esther Kennedy and others to help win support for a new skate park.
Those efforts – which were helped by City Councilor Deglan McEachern and longtime skateboard enthusiast Dave Cosgrove – led to an endorsement of the idea by the City Council Monday.
The council unanimously approved a motion for City Manager Karen Conard to put out a request for proposals (RFP) to build and pay for a skate park and recreation field at the stump dump, which is located off Route 33.
PORTSMOUTH Besides learning to perfect an ollie back when he was in second grade, Portsmouth resident Seamus Durkin didn’t spend a whole lot of time skateboarding growing up.
When the pandemic struck, though, things changed: Along with a friend, Sebastian Borden, Durkin, now a senior at Portsmouth High School, took up the hobby again and has been skateboarding every chance he gets.
More than just a physical activity for Durkin, skateboarding gives him a sense of calm as people around the world continue grappling with the coronavirus. “I think it really means a lot,” he said of his newfound passion.