Year-round rink for toddler and a Beta-Delta adult skater, New Yorkers please help!

[emilorad]

We are a new skating family from Chicagoland and are weighing the pros and cons of moving to New York. We are looking into the White Plains area looking for a year-round LTS environment for a toddler boy who is all of 3 yrs old and loves skating. We are rather spoiled by the rinks where we are - his home rink has a dedicated studio rink for lessons and free practice times for skating students every day of the week (30-60 min chunks). Prices for every day 2 hr public skating season (year round) passes at our park district rink are extremely affordable and gave me an opportunity to be on the ice with him for pennies and got me from Pre-Alpha through ISA Beta-Delta in a short span of time.
He is at the ISI Tot 3 level and is really at the rink to have fun first, make friends and learn new skills - in that order. He has taken part in a couple of ice shows and tot-level races and competitions, but again, it is all for sportsmanship and fun.
Bottom line, we need a year-round rink in the White Plains area that we can actually afford and be able to practice during practice sessions or public skates without breaking the bank. Since he loves skating and begs me to go to the rink, he would be happy to go every day if I could take him, so realistically a school that only has lessons once a week will not be a good fit. We have our own skates, so no rental prices are not a factor.
So far, I looked into WSA and it is rather pricey. Any other suggestions?
Any pointers would be most welcomed.

[Isk8NYC]

Welcome to the Board and the Metro NYC area!
That's interesting: one of the Club teaching assistants is moving from here to Chicago this summer.
Even exchange, I think: One Junior-level skater for two ISI skaters! LOL

This is the rink list from the ISI rink managers / Dist III website:
http://www.skatemirma.org/asp/members.asp

Many of the municipal rinks are seasonal, closing between April and August. Rye Playland is an example. Most of the privately-owned facilities are year-round. Check out the rink websites to be certain.

Don't rule out the rinks in Connecticut or New Jersey; sometimes in this area, it's worth an out-of-state trip for good ice or lessons. Local rinks' summer skating programs would be a good way for your son to make new friends before school starts.

One thing to think about: many skating programs in this area use the USFSA Basic Skills program instead of the ISI LTS/WeSkate program. There are some differences, which I'm sure your Tot won't even notice. The ISI and Basic Skills competitions are sometimes open to skaters from either program, as long as they have membership #'s and a coaches' signature on the entry form.

[emilorad]

Thank you very much for your warm welcome and a great response! :)

In particular, thank you so much for that link - I've been searching the ISI website for links to rinks in NY to no avail. Our district 8 is up and very active, but other districts are not featured on the main site.
I guess there is a lot of adjusting we will need to do - cost, time slots, travel.
Right now we have one rink 5 minutes away, another 10 minutes away and the third is all of 15 minutes away. Spoiled-spoiled-spoiled.
Also have been reading up on what other parents are spending and needless to say we can't afford anywhere near what others are spending. We are both in almost-new skates, from eBay in my case, second-hand for DS, a clearance dress from Rainbo and probably a halloween costume for DS's first solo.
Are there any links to boy's used and or cheaper skating apparel? Even eBay does not seem to offer much. Everyday practicewear is not a concern, but for those rare instances of competitions and/or tests, I can't seem to come up with anything other than either dressy wear or dress-up role-playing costumes, neither of which are very appropriate.
Also, what do boys wear under pants? It would make sense to wear tights both of warm and for support, but they probably don't. What then? :??

Anyhow... coming back to the rink situation. Looks like Yonkers and New Rochelle or Rye are decent options, but all are closed for the summer. Nyack is also an interesting option, if we can brave 287/Tappan-Zee traffic daily.
As for ISI Tot 1-4 vs USFS Snowplow Sam, it does not seem like there is too much of a difference, especially for a toddler. And if he is still into skating further along, I know we will be switching to a rink that offers either both ISI and USFS or just USFS for more advanced skaters. From what little we have seen of competitions, rinks with dual or complementary programs put out better skaters (clean edges, more power, etc).

Do you know where that coach is going to teach? There are several great rinks and the DuPage SC is rather famous.

[badaxel]

Hey there! I am actually in the process of relocating to white plains, too! (from manhattan) If you want, PM me and we can chat about moving and stuff! As for rinks, WSA is great for higher levels. I think for what you're looking for, though, you might try their public sessions. A lot of beginning skaters skate there. IN the winter, there is also Ebersole, which is very, very cheap if you live in WP, since it's owned by the city. I haven't skated at Rye, but I've heard it's really great ice. Yonkers- Murray's is great if you can get there in the mornings before school. I would go at 5:30 and have the ice to myself for as long as I wanted (unti 8:30) for $5! But, sadly, it's closed for the season. But, there were plans to build a second, indoor rink there- I'm not sure if it will happen, though. If you don't mind driving, there's also Brewster- about 30-45 minutes north of WP, and in NJ, there's Hackensack- the Ice House- that has 4 sheets of ice. Right now, with Murray's closed, I'm trapped at WSA, but I just figure that I'm paying for all that cheap ice I got in the fall and winter. I hope that some of this rambling is helpful, and good luck with your move. Maybe we'll be neighbors!