Get out your . . . ice skates?
It may seem counterintuitive with summer a month away, but a new, state-of-the-art ice skating rink is opening on Governors Island on Saturday.
“Mel’s Rink,” an 8,000-square-foot arena on the island’s western promenade with views of the Statue of Liberty, is so slick it’s like ice, according to the Trust of Governors Island, which announced the opening on Tuesday.
The synthetic ice is high density plastic polymer and can handle regular, metal-bladed ice skates at any time. The ice skates you can rent there are regularly sharpened for an optimal experience, the announcement said.
“When I first discovered Mel’s Rink on the roof of the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., I immediately pictured a larger version for New York City skaters on Governors Island, right in view of Lady Liberty,” said Karen Brooks Hopkins, a member of the Trust for Governors Island and a senior adviser for the Onassis Foundation.
Special programming, including guest skaters, will be announced in the near future.
Mel’s Rink will be open through Oct. 31, with free weekday morning skates between 10 a.m. and noon, and for those who can’t make it until later, rentals are $20 per person until 5 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 p.m. on weekends.
In April, the Trust for Governors Island announced that it will be open though 10 p.m. on Fridays this summer, starting May 25.
