November 9: NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver joined Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, Staten Island Deputy Borough President Ed Burke and Assembly Member Michael Cusick to break ground on phase one of North Park. The 21-acre section of the former Fresh Kills landfill will be the first section inside the Fresh Kills Landfill boundaries to open to public.
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2016: Freshkills Park is Named One Of Five “Anchor Parks”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver announced that the City will invest $150 million in major improvements at five large parks under the new Anchor Parks initiative. This funding will allow NYC Parks to open up new sections of Freshkills Park. Read More
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2015: New Springville Greenway Ribbon Cutting
NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, joined Deputy Borough President Ed Burke, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, NYC Department of Sanitation Chiefs Steve Montanino and Chief Adam Conanan, Staten Island Parks Commissioner Lynda Ricciardone, and Freshkills Park Administrator Eloise Hirsh to cut the ribbon on the New Springville Greenway located along Freshkills Park on Richmond Avenue. Read the Daily Plant Article.
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2015: New Springville Greenway Complete
Construction on the New Springville Greenway was completed in the summer of 2015. The 3.2-mile path along the eastern edge of Freshkills Park creates north/south bike access parallel with Richmond Avenue.
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2013: Solar Array Plan Announced
It was announced that Freshkills Park will host New York City’s largest solar array, large enough to power more than 2,000 homes.
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2013: Main Creek Wetland Restoration Complete
On June 6, the Main Creek Wetland Restoration pilot project was completed. This project stabilized the shoreline, created new salt marsh habitat, and removed invasive species.
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2013: Owl Hollow Fields Open
April: Owl Hollow Fields opened, with four soccer fields (two of which are lighted), and a landscaped path. The LEED certified comfort station remains to be built.
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2012: Schmul Park Reopens
Schmul Park, the first complete park project, reopened in the Travis Neighborhood. The project included renovating the playground with colorful shaped surfaces to echo the topography of the park, new handball and basketball courts, creating what will become a tree-lined entrance to North Park, and building a comfort station with water and energy saving measures.
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2012: Goatscaping
In June and July, a herd of goats helped out in the Main Creek Wetland Restoration by eating phragmites, an invasive reed. The pilot restoration project’s objective was to remove phragmites, increase ecosystem habitats via native species plantings, stabilize the shoreline to combat sea level rise, and improve water quality.
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2009: Freshkills Park East Park Roads SEIS
The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) that analyzed the construction of park roads through East Park, examining the potential impacts in greater detail than previously examined in the GEIS and also examining park road phasing, impacts on Landfill Section 6/7 and the associated landfill infrastructure, and further examining road options and alternatives. This Statement of Findings documents that environmental review process and conclusions presented in both the GEIS and SEIS.
Download the Freshkills Park GEIS and SEIS Statement of Findings, October 2009