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One Leg Up 8-15-24 - Supporting the Soundview Skatepark With Dr. Joel Grassi · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Dearren.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: And welcome inside to the Alex Scarett Podcast Network. You know,
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: I swear to God, I wake up every day and
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: things just hit my desk. If you all like the
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Paralympics yesterday, or you know Terminello's take, these different things
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: pop up and that's the theme of the show for
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: the day. Well, how about some skating talk, right we
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: all if you're a rollerblader, skateboarder, all that love to
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: go to a skate park, not just the city streets.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: And on the line right now, Instadia of me is
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: doctor Joel Grossi, and you are a pastor and you're
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: a roller skating pastor. Tell me what's going on here?
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: That's right, brother. No, I've been a skateboarder since the
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Back to the Future days. That's when I first got
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: into it, and so it's been forty something years and
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: I skate, I pastor. I love it all and I'm
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: so excited to be on the program with you, Alex.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Well, when you're not on the station, I work at WMCA,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: we gotta go rollerblading. And then how about that I'm
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: ready when you are, well, I have am walking the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: word radio for a minute, because this effort to get
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: a skate park in Soundview, Now that's in the Bronx.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Right, correct, Yeah, that's the Southeast Bronx.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: This effort is so interesting to me because A, I'm
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: a roller skater, and B I do feel that skating
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: is such a vital part for kids in the community, right,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: that's why you're pushing for this.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Skateboarding has always been such a part of the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: New York City youth culture my whole life. But it's
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: gotten so popular just on the Olympics last week, and
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: so there's always a place to play basketball and baseball.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: We're so glad for that. Soccer. We're so thankful for that.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: There just aren't that many places to skate, and so
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: we're really so glad to see this initiative to get
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: new skate parks built, especially this one in the Bronx,
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: which I really think will be a world class skate park.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: You know, I gotta ask you this because I feel
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: like there is some kind of stigma against skateboarders and
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: religious I don't know, but as a pastor, why is
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: the church involved with this right now?
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Well, A, because it's just an opportunity for us to
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: improve quality of life and be a blessing to the community,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: the youth. But you're absolutely right. Skateboarding has always been
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: maybe a little counter cultural or a little bit outside
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the lines. But you know what, so is Jesus. And
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: do I think Jesus would have been a skateboarder if
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: he was alive in twenty twenty four. I don't see
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: why not. I think he would have been. I think
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: he would have been. Sure. So it's something that gives
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: our church an opportunity to provide an equal opportunity for
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: skateboarders as much as all youth activities.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Now, let me get this right. You are the pastor
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: with the Commonwealth Baptist Church.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: That corrects correct.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So in your community, do you find the youth
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: are troubled or obviously nationwide they're not coming to church
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: at all, are they?
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: You know, it is interesting there's been a trend I
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: think what they call the aging of the church in
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: America for sure, and I don't think we can deny that.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: At the same time, you know, at our church we
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: have definitely some seasoned saints, as they say, but we
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: have some youth. But when it comes to things like
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: these activities, I think it's great because we get to
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: see everyone get involved at all levels.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Now you're dealing with council Member Amanda Farius. I'm seeing
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: here working with government to get this done. It's so vital,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: isn't it.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: It absolutely is. And they've been on board from the beginning.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Community Board nine, William Rivera, all those guys, they've been
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: so supportive of this. And it was so funny because
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: I approached them about presenting the need for the skate
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: park at a community board meeting and they said, well,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: we had been wanting to do a skate park. We
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: didn't know who to talk to, and it all kind
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: of came together and then we got connected with the
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Tony Hawk skate Park project. Really, wife knew someone there, Yeah,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: and everything kind of came together and it's just been
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: great to see this. But the government, yeah, Amanda, all them,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: they've been wonderful.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Now let me ask you this, have you ever done
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: a sermon on a skateboard?
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Yes? I have. As a matter of fact, I actually
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: have a skateboard underneath my pulpit every time I preach,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: believe it or not. I have a baseball bat and
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: a skateboard, and I'm a Yankee fan like you. But
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I have skated and preached. I've done messages about skateboards.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: I've done messages. Actually, there's actually a verse in the
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Bible that says, under the borders were four wheels, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: that's not talking about skateboards. But yet it's interesting.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: I've never known that.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting? You'll have to look that up. But yeah,
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: So I've definitely skated and preached at the same time.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: And it's just great to just kind of be yourself
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: and be who God made you to be and skate
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: all the while you do it.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: You mentioned a baseball bat, and we all know why
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: someone have a baseball bat in their church. Is crime
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: prevalent around there? Could this reduce crime?
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: You know? I definitely think that having the full gamut
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: of youth activities is going to help be an avenue
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: for the youth to be a constructive and creative We've
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: got the same problems everybody else has these days, but
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: I think if you can get the kids skating and
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: reduce some of the other temptations that are out there,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: it's going to do so much to improve quality of life.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Passage o' grassi favorite roller rink growing up when you
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: when you were growing.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Up, oh man, you know, we didn't have a lot.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: I mean way back in the day Malali's over by
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Yankee Stadium that was kind of like a bike and
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: skate combination, and that was one in the city that
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: we'd skate. We'd always go down, of course, to the
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Brooklyn Banks, and then you had the Harlem Banks and
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the Bubble Banks and all these other ones. But then
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: there was another one up in Newburgh, Newburg Skate Park
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: that was really well known. We didn't have a lot.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Now today we're thankful to have so many, and it's
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: just that the Bronx really needs another one, a big one.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: You mentioned bikes. I'm just thinking, like bike lanes are
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: pretty dangerous for skateboarders, so to have the skate park,
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: it might be easier just to blow off steam there
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: then try it out on a bike lane.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Right, Yeah. I think when you're on the when you're
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: on the streets, when you're out you know, in the wild,
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: so to speak, it's all got to kind of integrate.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: And so you've got scooters, skaters, motorbikes, everything going on, pedestrians,
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: so you got to kind of just integrate and you know,
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: make it home in one piece.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Well, I'd love to do a longer conversation with you
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: as this project rams up. I'd love to do that.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Let's let's definitely do that, man. And I can't wait
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: to go skating with you.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: And it's always great working with you in the studios
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: of one eleven Broadway down here. Love love working on your.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Show The Pleasures with Mine, Alex.
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: And one last thing, we're going to skate together, maybe
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: at the church. That would be a highlight right there.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: I can't wait, I can't wait. Let's make that happen.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: Passer and doctor Joel Grossi with me today on the
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Alex Garrett Podcast Network. Thanks for listening.