Freshkills Park

Southpark

Years ago I used to drive to Staten Island to visit the Macys store.  The smell getting out of the car was beyond terrible.  Life has changed out there and Freshkills Park is in the pinnacle of this change.

Morepark
I took a drive out to Freshkills Park with Eloise Hirsh, the Freshkills Park Adminstrator who happened to be the first Deputy Commissioner of the New Year City Department of Parks and Recreation in the Koch Administration. She has always been passionate about parks and planning.  Eloise and her husband moved to Pittsburgh for almost two decades and when she returned to NYC, she wanted to do something part-time with the parks.  Adrian Benepe, who is the current Commissioner of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation took Eloise to Freshkills and before you knew it, she was not exactly working part-time as she hoped but instead headed up the Freshkills Park because she became passionate about the park. 

Ga
Freshkills is located at the end of Staten Island.  468,000 people live in Staten Island (one of the largest growing counties in the state) and to give you perspective that there are 305,000 people living Pittsburgh (which is shrinking).  The park is 2200 acres which is three times the size of Central Park.  Methane is generated from the landfills at Freshkills which generates enough heat for 22000 homes in State Island.  All impressive statistics.  This is one of the many lines that are collecting the gas. 

Park
The soil out there is cleaner than any other soil in the city, hands down as it is a state of the art landfill conversion generating energy. What is more impressive is how incredibly beautiful the park is.  Currently the park is undergoing development in small chunks that the city has funded to develop 50 acres. 

The birds are beautiful out there.  There is a kayak house that is always filled to capacity.  The biggest question is how do we get more people out to this park as it is like no other park in the boroughs of NYC.  Music festivals, art installations, educational experiences, small farms...we will see.

The vistas, the meadows, the sheer beauty of a park of this size in our own backyard is a park that is in need of lots of TLC to create another destination location that gives us all a break from the concrete jungle we live in everyday. 

 

Posted June 1, 2012 in real estate, Travel  
blog comments powered by Disqus
« Previous Post   Next Post »

Joanne Wilson Joanne Wilson loves food, books, and music. She lives in New York City. Her husband Fred and children Jessica, Emily, and Josh are bloggers too. More »

gotham gal updates

RSS    Email updates    Gotham Gal Twitter updates

ask gotham gal

Powered by Formspring.

books of the moment

  • Peggy Riley: Amity & Sorrow: A Novel
    A mother drives for days with her daughters and ends up in a random Oklahoma town after crashing the car. They come from a polygamous community where there were 50 wives. The mother had grown up knowing life outside that community. Over time, after leaving, she almost becomes deprogrammed. The realization of what she did to her daughters who no nothing outside the world they came from including how to read. Then there is the family that brought them in. It is a fascinating story. Well written. Worthy read.
  • Charles Graeber: The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder
    An amazing true story of a male nurse who was arrested in 2002. I actually remember the story as I followed it in the papers. This nurse was a serial killer who had probably murdered over 400 patients that were under his care. A seriously well researched book. Great read.
  • Meg Wolitzer: The Interestings: A Novel

    Meg Wolitzer: The Interestings: A Novel
    Wolitzer writes about a group of camp friends who all come from different walks of life (some on scholarship) as their friendships continue through their mid-50s. At the beginning the story seems trite but as you continue to read there is a lot of be said. The story is sticking with me. She makes the case that everything that happens to you from your childhood makes an impact on who you become or don't become. Worthy read.

  • Elizabeth Strout: The Burgess Boys: A Novel

    Elizabeth Strout: The Burgess Boys: A Novel
    Strouts last book won a Pulitzer. She focuses on family issues. I enjoyed this book much more than Olive Ketteredge which I found utterly depressing. This book follows two brothers and a sister who live in the shadow of their fathers accidental death. Like most siblings, all have turned out very different yet they are connected. I did not love any of the characters, like her last book, yet as The Burgess Boys moves forward and memories are revealed, it is an interesting perspective on human character.

  • Tamara Shopsin: Mumbai New York Scranton: A Memoir

    Tamara Shopsin: Mumbai New York Scranton: A Memoir
    Great book. A witty spare inventive personal diary of Tamara journey from Indian to New York to Scranton. Really really enjoyed the book.

  • Michael Lavigne: The Wanting: A Novel

    Michael Lavigne: The Wanting: A Novel
    An incredible book that tells the human side of the many layered issues in the Middle East. From immigrating to Israel from Moscow, to being a victim of a suicide bomber yet surviving, to being pulled into an Israeli radical group. Each character is connected. Very layered well written book. Powerful

  • Alessandro Piol: Tech and the City: The Making of New York's Startup Community

    Alessandro Piol: Tech and the City: The Making of New York's Startup Community
    A history of the Internet that I lived through. Great job of recording what happened.

  • Amity Gaige: Schroder: A Novel

    Amity Gaige: Schroder: A Novel
    Not sure how much I loved this book. A father loses his child in divorce and decides to kidnap his own daughter. He is not a stable person but he obviously loves his daughter. His own childhood has made him a disconnected human being. An interesting journey but not sure I'd recommend.

  • Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea

    Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea
    Classic.

  • Janice Steinberg: The Tin Horse: A Novel

    Janice Steinberg: The Tin Horse: A Novel
    a good novel that not only tells the tale of another dysfunctional jewish family in the early 30's but interweaves pieces of los angeles history throughout the book.