By Tracy Zwick
It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and in Central Park, Upper West Sider Rachel Bruttig was enjoying the sunshine — and the music — with her husband and twin 6-year-old daughters, who’d just stepped off the ice at the newly-opened Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center.
“I love the DJ!” crowed Bruttig, of West 109th Street, as The Village People’s “YMCA” wound down. One of the girls had taken a small spill, but everyone was smiling as they headed inside, where free brownies, hot cocoa and cool drinks were available courtesy of Harlem’s own Settepani.
Despite the perfect skating weather, neither the rink nor the modern indoor facilities (both of which opened last weekend with limited fanfare) were crowded. There were plenty of sleek picnic-style tables available in the spacious interior commons, and lots of benches where patrons could sit to put on or take off skates, to take a rest, or to warm up while watching skaters glide past on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
UWSer April Vargara was at the rink celebrating her 17th birthday with friends. She said her mom had suggested ice skating at the park’s newest attraction, the Davis Center. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been ice skating — maybe once “when I was little” — so she decided to “bring my friends and try something new for the first time” in honor of her birthday.
They’d all rented skates, which are available in a range of sizes for $10. Entry to the Davis Center is free, but to get on the ice, it costs $10 for adults during peak hours (including weekends), $5 off-peak and $5 for kids at all times. (Children 3 and under are free.) Lessons are available, as are hockey clinics and a hockey league. Information about the rink’s programming is available on its website.
The $160 million Davis Center replaced the Lasker Pool and Rink, which closed in 2021. The center was conceived as part of a re-envisioning of the former Lasker site, and restoration of the northern part of Central Park, with a goal of delivering year-round space for the Harlem community and adjacent neighborhoods. It’s the Central Park Conservancy’s most ambitious undertaking to date, providing a swimming pool in the summer, and the ice rink in winter. There’s also a public green, the Harlem Oval, available in shoulder seasons.
Settepani’s concessions counter won’t be fully operational for another week or so, according to staff, but when it’s fully operational, the menu will include soups, pastries, other baked goods, coffee and, naturally, hot chocolate.
The rink doesn’t just offer neighborhood entertainment. It also provides employment. Elizabeth Class of 110th Street was working Saturday, in customer service, and beaming as she described the modern new facilities: “It’s amazing!” she said. She’d found herself watching the Davis Center go up as she visited the park in recent years. “I’m always here,” she said of this part of the park. “I figured I might as well get a job.”
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Do you need a reservation in advance to skate during a weekday?
Can you skate all day (from 7AM to 5PM) on non-holiday weekdays for the $5 admission if you have your own skates, or do you have to leave at every ice cut and then pay to get back in?
The website isn’t clear on any of this.
Is the ice better than Lasker? That older rink had horrid ice, would destroy blades.
Do you know what the subtext of the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A” is?
“Skate sessions range from 1–2 hours. Pricing and session length vary based on day and time. Check our calendar for more information.”
JoJo:
If you check, you’ll find that the calendar webpage is a 404 error.
You’ve not actually answered my question about staying around for new ice after an ice cut; I’ll ask it differently: If you show up 20 minutes before the ice cut, do you then have to leave and pay to re-enter after the ice cut?
For example, that is NOT the case for weekday public sessions at World Ice in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park.
Then there’s my question about having to have a reservation, the way one does at Bryant Park.
I took my 3 year old to a skating class here last week and we had a great time. Very excited to return soon!
Do you have to bring your own insurance or can you just sign a waiver?
There’s nearly always fine print waiving your right to sue for any cause; this is how World Ice in Flushing operates — but you don’t actually have to sign.
At Bryant Park you have to sign when making your reservation.
We are so excited about this!!! Too bad we missed the free brownies and cocoa but we will be happy to support Settepani and the wonderful new Davis Center!
Sounds much better than the code browns at the pool opening
Hundreds of cracks in the ice, dozens quite wide and deep.
Beyond dulling skates faster, these cracks are a danger to skaters.
The temporary platform system supporting the rink surface needs some work–some kind of mesh to hold the ice together + likely better insultation.
Though imperfect, and pricier to build every fall, the ice at the Bryant Park seasonal rink is MUCH better.
This ice is better than old Lasker rink, but not much.