For some, winter is a season best experienced from underneath the covers. But even if you’d rather be hibernating for the next few months, consider making your peace with all things icy cold over at City Ice Pavilion in Long Island City, one of two ice rinks in Queens.
The other rink, World Ice Arena, is located in Flushing, and run by the same management company.
Like its sister rink, City Ice Pavilion offers a dizzying array of programs in addition to its public skating hours, including beginner skating lessons for kids, adult and youth hockey leagues and even summer camps — the rink is open year-round — according to Marjorie Harrow, the rink’s office manager.
Because of its location, the rink serves a diverse crowd, Harrow said. Many people from Queens enjoy the facility, as do nearby Brooklyn and Manhattan residents, because “it’s really easy to come across the bridge.”
On New Year’s Day, Manhattan mom Merritt Edelman watched her two daughters as they whipped around the ice. The family labradoodle, Charlie, seemed comfortable sitting out the action on Edelman’s lap.
Edelman said her daughters are avid skaters who also take lessons at the rink. She has visited “all the rinks in the city” and asserted that “this one’s just the nicest.”
It’s the “biggest, least crowded, friendliest, and it’s dog friendly,” Edelman said.
Self-described “rink rat” Steven Busch agreed.
“It’s not crowded, it’s cheap and the ice is very nice,” Busch said. The Bensonhurst-born Astoria resident said he had been skating for 25 years, and made a point to hit the ice at least once a week after work and every weekend.
“I grew up playing hockey,” Busch said, something that was evident as he dodged and weaved around the rink, sometimes helping the fledgling non-rats along the way. Busch treated one woman to an impromptu lesson in stopping, never a bad skill to learn.
Harrow said the rink’s lessons are great for all levels of skaters, from those whose “only goal is they want to be able to go around in a circle” to moves of the spin and twirl variety. “Some people have higher aspirations,” Harrow noted.
Like most rinks, City Ice Pavilion’s classes follow the Ice Skating Institute’s curriculum. Lessons start out at the “Learn to Skate” level, and students must pass a set of criteria before moving up a level. Eventually, skaters can graduate into figure skating and hockey programs.
A seven-week session at City Ice involves one half-hour lesson a week and costs $175, which includes rental fees.
City Ice Pavilion is located at 47-32 32nd Place in Long Island City. Public skating is offered daily; call or see website for times: (718) 706-6667, cityicepavilion.com. Admission is $5 Monday through Friday and $8 on weekends. Skate rentals are available for $5.
Note: ice skating can be dangerous, as this reporter discovered after a bad fall led to a bruised wrist (and ego). Come prepared with helmets and the necessary safety gear. Labradoodles optional.
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