Hundreds of skateboarders who were banned from rolling through Manhattan in an annual race called the Broadway Bomb took to the streets anyway Saturday, despite a heavy police presence.
"I love the vibe, that's what it's all about and as long as I’m not hurting anybody I feel that we should be able to skate," participant Bilao Ndongo said.
Police massed on Manhattan's West Side Saturday in an attempt to deter the nearly 2,000 skaters from defying a court order canceling the 8-mile cruise down the Great White Way.
"I think it's very unsafe," pedestrian Zlata Paces said. "They are not supposed to do it."
Officers played warnings over a loudspeaker and deployed orange nets to block intersections, but they also tolerated some groups of skateboarders who detoured around the barricades and rolled south.
No arrests were reported.
Last year, around 1,000 people rode longboards all the way to Wall Street from Morningside Heights.
But this year the city got a judge to issue an order blocking the event, calling it unsafe.
"There's just as many people, we’re just all spread out nice and thin," participant Sean McCarthy said. "it's just ridiculous, why bother with people on skateboards?"
