Labor opened its doors in the summer of 2012, as a wave of small brands was reshaping skateboarding. Its owner, James, knew which to stock, and the shop quickly built a reputation for its selection of hard and soft goods, including its Labor-branded clothing. The Canal location is small and well-trafficked, which means you won’t be able to linger inside for an hour, but you can post up on the sidewalk with the locals, who often have sessions going directly outside.

In early 2020, after more than seven years on Canal, Labor opened a second location, this one in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The selection of brands is the same—you’ll find a healthy mix of the up-and-coming and the established on its walls and racks—but the additional space means the shop can accommodate more people and, when it’s able to again, host video premieres. The store’s close to Blue Park, so it’s a good stop before or after you skate.

Tenant feels like a classic skate shop. It opened in the fall of 2019 and quickly drew co-signs from skaters like John Shanahan (who wore a Tenant cap on the cover of the November 2020 issue of Thrasher) and the crew from Bronze. It carries what you’d expect a shop of its caliber to sell—some big brands, some smaller ones, some local ones—and is staffed by pedigreed skaters you might otherwise catch at surrounding spots.

Supreme’s box logo transcended skateboarding long ago, a fact to which the near-constant lineups outside its locations attest. Still, the store is stocked with the latest from Fucking Awesome, Antihero, Baker, and a handful of other top-tier companies, whose boards it displays prominently. Assuming hard goods are all you’re looking for, you may not want to brave the crowds, but Supreme offers an experience no other skate shop can mimic.

Supreme’s Brooklyn location offers the same selection of clothes, boards, and accessories as its Manhattan storefront, which means it draws the same lines. One key difference: The Williamsburg shop boasts a bowl that doubles as an architectural piece. Unless you’re connected, you definitely won’t be able to skate it, but you can still pick up a board in its shadow.

KCDC, a Williamsburg staple, stocks a good range of product, some of it from brands you don’t often see in the wild in NYC, like Toy Machine. The shop also has a wide selection of footwear, from brands like Nike and Vans, and is home to a library of vintage skate magazines—something that, when hanging out at a skate shop is possible again, you’d be able to browse.

By some estimations, Park Delicatessen might be peak Brooklyn—a florist that also sells skateboards. But the shop, open for more than a decade and owned by married couple Valentine Leung and Michael Sclafani, is the go-to for plenty of skaters in Crown Heights and its surrounding neighborhoods. Along with boards and other essential hard goods, it stocks an in-house line that’s big in Japan.

Belief is a few blocks from Astoria’s skate park, one of the best plazas in the city. The shop itself stocks a good range of products from companies like Quasi and the Deluxe stable of brands, alongside its in-house gear. If you’re not trying to ride the train out to Queens, you can always check its location in Brooklyn, right by McCarren skate park.

Belief’s Brooklyn storefront is another solid option in the vicinity of McCarren Park, which is home to a popular skate park. The shop itself stocks the same goods as its cousin in Queens—Quasi, Deluxe, Alltimers, and so on—so, if you need to, you shouldn’t have a problem putting a board together before you head out.