From: cablader@ix.netcom.com (D Miles) Subject: [sfskaters] San Francisco's Midnight Rollers on rough road Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 12:26:15 -0700 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: DAVID G. MILES JR. PHONE 415-752-1967 FAX 415-SKATE-97 E-MAIL cablader@ix.netcom.com WEB PAGE http://www.cora.org IS IT OVER FOR SAN FRANCISCO'S "FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE" ? Skaters may be looking for another place to roll on Friday Nights. Last Friday night, the police showed up to the Friday Night Skate to shut down the skate. They feel the skate is dangerous and should be changed or stopped. They quoted accident stats, disrespect to officers and other complaints from motorists and neighborhood residents. The Friday Night Skate has been rollin' since 1989 but then there were about 10 to 15 skaters. Now there is up to 700 skaters showing up to skate what skaters recognize as Americas most fun and exciting nocturnal inline activity. For some odd reason there is only a few black skaters on the night skate and David Miles is seen as the "sheriff" of the group. As David was being informed by the police of the situation, he responded to the police with a quote from the movie "Blazing Saddles". "Just gimme one chance to save our town. You'd do it for Randolf Scott". The cops laughed and granted the skaters one chance to clean up our act. We were allowed to skate our regular route under the watchful eyes of San Francisco's Finest. All reports said if the skaters acted like this every Friday, there would be no problem. We as skaters know that some of the skaters lately have been getting way out of control. They seem to think that we have some kind of constitutional right to block cars, run red lights, endanger pedestrians and damage private property. We have only ourselves to blame for the complaints that threaten our existence. Many of the skaters that have caused this situation are long time skaters that we all know as "friends". We don't need "friends" like these. We are taking steps to control the situation. We have created a Skate Patrol for the Friday Night Skate and printed the rules of the road for all skaters. We have appeared before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and will meet with the San Francisco Police Department later this week. We want to cooperate with the police department, the neighborhood groups and everyone that is impacted by the Friday Night Skate. This is the wake up call for those few skaters that get out of line that there are serious consequences to our actions. THE MIDNIGHT ROLLERS FRIDAY NIGHT IS A RECREATIONAL SKATE. We work all week long. We want to release the tension and have a good time. If you want to race, go with other racers, find a location and race to your hearts content. If you are an aggressive skater, find some aggressive skaters, get yourself some ramps and rails and grind to your hearts content. The Friday Night Skate is a privilege, not a right. ALL SKATERS ARE WELCOME, but if you want the skate to continue, respect it. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? The best thing a San Francisco skater can do to help is follow the rules of the road and take the attitude that we are all responsible for actions of the skaters on the Friday Night Skate. The best thing all skaters in the Bay Area, across the country and around the world can do is tell the City of San Francisco your experience with the Midnight Rollers. The following is a list of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. E-mail of fax to them your experience. Let them know that the Midnight Rollers "Friday Night Skate" is as much a part of San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge, Sourdough Bread and Cable Cars. Board of Supervisors Directory 401 Van Ness Avenue, 94102 Clerks Office, Room 308 voice: 554-5184, fax: 554-5163 Board of Supervisors Angela Alioto Room 317 voice: 554-7788, fax: 554-5163 e-mail: Amalioto@aol.com Tom Ammiano Room 310 voice: 554-5144, fax: 554-5163 e-mail: SUPAMMIANO@aol.com Sue Bierman Room 311 voice: 554-6661, fax: 554-6665 e-mail: sbierman@thecity.sfsu.edu Amos Brown Room 308 voice: 554-7601, fax: 554-5163 Tom Hsieh Room 320 voice: 554-5015, fax: 554-5014 e-mail: SupHsieh@aol.com Leslie R. Katz Room 308 voice: 554-5335, fax: 554-5163 Barbara Kaufman Room 328 voice: 554-4880, fax: 554-5163 Susan Leal Room 321 voice: 554-6644, fax: 554-6622 e-mail: SFSUPELEAL@aol.com Kevin Shelley (President of the Board) Room 319 voice: 554-4005, fax: 554-7350 email: kshelley@thecity.sfsu.edu Mabel Teng Room 309 voice: 554-4987, fax: 554-4985 e-mail: mteng@thecity.sfsu.edu Michael Yaki Room 308 voice: 554-7901, Fax: 554-5163