Staten Island’s Greenbelt: Borough of Parks Evolution From Beginning To Modern Day
Staten Island’s Greenbelt: Borough of Parks Evolution From Beginning To Modern Day
Staten Islander News traveled to Historic Richmond Town to learn more about the evolution of the Greenbelt and what it looks like today.
The Greenbelt on Staten Island was something that Islanders fought for multiple times over the years. In the beginning, when the population was starting to grow, there were voices suggesting leaving a pristine park in the middle of the island. Why build on it anyway, the reasoning went. It’s hilly, rocky, difficult to farm, and even horses don’t like it. These voices were ignored for the most part, but it wasn’t attractive to developers for these reasons. That didn’t stop them from trying a few times, but it was not able to happen.
Then, Robert Moses came along. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the name, he’s the highway man. He is responsible for most of the highway construction during the time he was the city planner. The BQE, along with many other roadways, were his vision. He also envisioned Staten Island as sort of a Brooklyn Part 2. He wanted two highways to bisect the island, one from north to south, the other east to west.
Luckily for those of us who enjoy natural areas, especially the Greenbelt we now have, the residents at the time were not having it. They pushed back hard, and were able to stop the highway plans and protect the area for future generations. And that’s how it came into being.
Over the years, there have been many changes. There have been easements, allowing construction on former park areas. But there have also been additions, so as it shrank in one area, it expanded in others. It is true, though, that there is less overall land devoted to this area. It was never really a belt in the sense of running fully across the island in any direction, but it is a belt of land, the island’s “Greenbelt Buckle,“ if you will.
And during the borough presidency of James Molinaro, the rules surrounding it were changed. The legal ramifications of these changes were not the area of expertise of the archivist, but we did discuss the history of the area to a great extent.
If you watch the documentary about Staten Island early in its development, you can see that those early residents held a vision for the island to be more of the New Westchester rather than the new Brooklyn. While it’s certainly more urban than that, it has a charm all its own. This charm is largely because of the Greenbelt.
You can see in the maps below how the area has evolved over time, with additions and subtractions in various areas such as the Graniteville Wetland and the monuments in the New Brighton area that has been closed off for years.
One thing you might notice, though, is the lack of greenspace in the more urban, lower income areas. There have been successful efforts to remedy this situation, including with the park land on Targee Street called Serpentine Commons that is open to the public and was a recent park conversion pushed for by the community. The higher income and less urban areas tend to have more park land in them.
When one considers the incredible benefits of exposure to nature, particularly in one’s formative years (as discussed by Richard Louv and Douglas Tallamy in their interviews), it becomes obvious that more greenspace, not more construction, is definitely needed on Staten Island.
The archivist also showed us several newsletters put out about the Greenbelt in the 1980s and 1990s. These same groups are partly responsible, with the help of the larger community, of saving Pouch Camp. If you recall, back in the late 2000s, the Boy Scouts was filing for bankruptcy, and this parcel was to be sold to a developer for $1 no less) to build senior housing or a hospital. The local residents banded together and demanded that it be saved. And it has been saved; it is part of the state’s park land system rather than the city’s, but it will be protected for future generations.
Below, you’ll find photographs of each of the maps we were shown, with several details of areas with greenspace. You can also find pages from an early book about the island where the park idea was first floated by Mr. Olmsted (who famously designed Central Park and whose house is preserved as a museum- the Olmsted-Beil House off Hylan Blvd). There are newsletters from the Greenbelt preservation group to read, along with pins and signs related to the area.
All of these items were shared with us from the collection of Historic Richmond Town. We’d like to thank them for their assistance and for sharing their valuable knowledge with us. Thank you to Carli DeFillo who is in charge of collections for the museum for guiding us through this complicated part of our Island’s history.
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Banner Image: Greenbelt Map Exploration at Historic Richmond Town Archives. Image Credit – Staten Islander News
Staten Islander News Service Staff Writer
This byline indicates that this article was penned by a member/members of the Staten Islander News Organization office team. Our staff writers are the backbone of our newspaper, performing all sorts of important tasks like conducting interviews, investigating leads, besides writing the news stories you see.
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