If you grew up in Yonkers, you probably know the feeling. It's Friday night. You're in middle school. Somebody's parent drops a group of you off on Tuckahoe Road, and you spend two hours going in circles on the ice at Murray's. For a lot of Yonkers kids, across a lot of years, that was the whole plan.
It Opened in January 1960
Murray's opened in January 1960. Its real name is the E.J. Murray Memorial Skating Center. Almost nobody calls it that. It's just Murray's.
Bill Borelli was there on day one. His family opened the Varsity Skate Shop inside the rink the same day the rink opened. The rink opened on January 16, 1960. In a 2014 interview with the MyYonkers blog, Borelli said about 7,000 people showed up. The rink had only about 300 pairs of rental skates. The lines stretched around the rink.
The Borelli family's shop is still inside, renting and sharpening skates, the way it has since 1960.
Look Up Next Time
Look up the next time you're there. The ice sits under a long row of curved arches. That ceiling is in almost every Murray's memory, even if nobody ever stopped to look at it.
More Than Friday Nights
Murray's is a City rink, run by the Yonkers Parks Department. It's busy all week. Kids as young as 4 take lessons there, all the way up to adults. Every spring, the season ends with the Ice Skating Show. Kids skate in costumes, with music and scenery.
Hockey lives there too. The New York Rangers team up with the rink on a learn-to-play program for kids ages 5 to 9. The Taconic Speed Skating Club has skated there since 1960. The Yonkers Figure Skating Club trains there.
And when summer comes, the ice comes out. Murray's turns into a roller rink.
Birthday Parties, Murray's Style
Plenty of Yonkers kids had a birthday at Murray's. The rules today are simple. Reserve a table for 12 or more skaters, decorate it and bring your own cake. Everything else comes from the snack bar. And no confetti or silly string. It sticks to the skates.
Friday Night Skating Is Still On
Here's the best part. Friday night skating is still going. Public skating runs 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and the rink plays music. There are daytime sessions most days too. Check the City's Murray's page for the week's schedule before you go.
So if you skated there in seventh grade, bring your kids. Or bring the same friends. You might still remember how to stop.
Murray's Skating Center, 348 Tuckahoe Road, Yonkers.
What's your best Murray's memory? Tell us in the comments.
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