Once serving as an outdoor recreation facility for the youth of Moorestown, the David Gentile Skatepark at Wesley Bishop Park is soon to be a thing of the past, with the township about to send out a bid for demolition of the park.
Closed permanently for about a year now, Moorestown Director of Recreation Theresa Miller said that it had been closed several times for maintenance in the past, before closing down for good after falling into a state of disrepair.
“It’s a wooden structure and it’s outlived its shelf life,” Miller said.
However, Miller acknowledges that kids sneaking into the park are still an ongoing issue, citing that she has, on several instances within the last year, asked kids to leave the park.
Miller said there is currently no expected start date to the demolition and a bond was approved for the project to go out to bid.
“It’s become unsafe,” Mayor Stacey Jordan said.
Jordan said the township has been advised by its insurance company that the park is a liability and that it has become cost-prohibitive.
Quarterly maintenance fees for the park totaled close to $950, and to replace a single skate light would have cost the township about $12,500, according to Miller.
She also said, in addition, problems, including hardware malfunctioning, when added to other repairs, would have cost the town $1,800 per day to fix, not including the cost of materials.
Born in 1964, the park’s namesake, David Gentile, grew up in Moorestown and went on to play football for Moorestown High School.
In 1979, at 15 years old, Gentile sustained a broken neck during a football game at the high school, causing him to become a quadriplegic.
“The family and I realized it would be a long recovery, if he made it,” former neighbor and friend of Gentile, Sandra McGuire said.
During his rehabilitation in North Jersey, the community organized David’s Day on May 10, 1980, to raise money for the Gentile family, in hopes of helping with the costs that accrued as a result of Gentile’s medical bills.
“The whole town turned out,” Gentile’s mother, Joann Gentile-Taylor, said.
With Gentile’s father being a banker, Gentile-Taylor explained that her late husband started a trust with the money raised from David’s Day. One of the stipulations tied to the trust stated that if Gentile were to pass, the money would be returned to the township.
“That money had to be returned to the town,” Gentile-Taylor said.
She explained that when Gentile died in February 2001 at the age of 36, she did just that. During the time, Gentile-Taylor approached resident Allan Hanlon who was searching for ways to raise money for the skatepark, which at the time was only partially complete.
Gentile-Taylor then donated $120,000 toward the construction of the skate park, which was later dedicated in David’s name in 2002.
“I thought it was a great kind of memorial to David,” Gentile-Taylor said. “I thought that would be something that he would have enjoyed.”
Although she said that she is naturally disappointed to hear the skate park is being torn down, Gentile-Taylor said she recognizes there is nothing she can do about the demolition.
Moving to North Jersey a year and a half ago, Gentile-Taylor said she is grateful for the efforts of McGuire, who spoke on her behalf.
“The town changes and people don’t know who David was,” Gentile-Taylor said. “I remember David every day of my life.”
At the Moorestown Town Council meeting on Sept. 23, McGuire spoke on behalf of David and his mother.
In addition to giving money to help finish the skate park, Gentile-Taylor also donated $136,000 toward the purchase of new ambulances in the township, as well as giving $200,000 to the local YMCA and charities, for a total of $521,000.
“It’s such an honorable family,” McGuire said. “Don’t let it be forgotten.”
McGuire also explained to the council that if the park is to be demolished, the only thing in Moorestown that will bear David’s name is a small gold plaque on the door of an ambulance.
Councilman Greg Newcomer said following McGuire’s comments that he was sure the entire board wants an appropriate memorial for Gentile.
Jordan also said after the meeting that the township does plan to honor Gentile in some other way, but is still discussing various options.
“We’re planning to do something else, but what that something else is, is still being batted around,” Jordan said.
