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NYC Skate Legend Andy Kessler Dies
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 11, 2009
Modified Aug 11, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 11, 2009
Modified Aug 11, 2009
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One of NYC's skateboarding legends, Andy Kessler, died yesterday in Montauk at the age of 49. Initial reports are stating that the cause of death was an allergic reaction to a hornet sting. In 2005, New York magazine profiled the skater and the Zoo York tribe he was a part of, just as the West Coast skaters were getting all the attention on the big screen.
BoingBoing has a quote about Kessler from Glen E. Friedman, a photographer who chronicled skate culture, saying, "If skateboarding was a town, this guy was its mayor. Andy Kessler, one of the good ones... This was a great dude, NO ONE could say anything wrong about this dude. He was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, skater in New York City, holding it down, real since the 70's. Andy will be seriously missed by many including myself." This type of sentiment is a familiar one amongst those who knew him. And you can get to know him and his skating here:
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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