When Jose Portes used to search for skate spots in Brooklyn in the late 80s, he traveled with a crew ten deep in case drug dealers harassed them. Today, the 38-year-old co-owner of Homage Brooklyn, a skateboard and snowboard shop in Boerum Hill, is still building a community of skaters. But now he brings them together at a training facility in Gowanus.

The facility, built last fall, is open to local skateboarders on Friday evenings and provides a place for the Homage skate team to train throughout the winter. The Homage TF, as it’s known, doesn’t make any money. Instead the endeavor is about bringing skateboarding back to its roots, reviving the trend of local skate shops like Skate NYC in the East Village supported up-and-coming skaters.

“Kids get to a certain age and the streets raise them,” said Portes. “We’re out in the streets, so they’re like our little brothers. So we want to make sure they go in the right direction.”