Staten Island Parks 
Looking to get better insight on what Staten Island parks have to offer? Here you will find information on what types of parks exist on Staten Island as well as some background on the history of each park. Additionally, we will highlight some of the amenities and events each has to offer. Staten Island is known as the "Borough of Parks" as it features the highest concentration of New York City Parkland of the five boroughs that make up New York City. The information on local parks is part of RealEstateSINY.com's ongoing commitment to give the most comprehensive information about Staten Island and its amazing features.
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Photo© Conferance House Park, Tottenville Staten Island
There are currently 116 blog entries related to this category.
Markham Playground, Willowbrook Staten Island
Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 3:33pm. 93 Views, 0 Comments.
In 1959, Intermediate School 51 was built on Staten Island’s North Shore. The Markham Intermediate School, as it is also known, was named for Edwin Markham, a California teacher and school principal. Markham became known to Staten Islanders after having published works of poetry and soon after moved to Staten Island. While residing on 
Staten Island, he lived nearby, in the neighborhood of Westerleigh.
In 1962, a parcel of land adjacent to the school was transformed to be used as the school’s playground. It was then known as Junior High School 51 Playground. For years, the playground has been operated by both the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the New York City Board of Education. During the latter part of the…
Mahoney Playground, New Brighton Staten Island
Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 2:53pm. 82 Views, 0 Comments.
In 1933, a little less than two acres of land were acquired by the New York City Board of Education, who was planning
on constructing a school on the site. Three years passed and nothing had been done, so the site was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. By 1939, a playground had opened on the site.
In 1940, the playground was dedicated to honor Michael J. Mahoney, a member of the United States Marine Corps who
was killed during the First World War. Before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, Mahoney lived on Staten Island in the neighborhood of New Brighton. At the dedication, Mahoney’s eldest brother presented a plaque which was cast in honor of the fallen soldier.
In 1961, the New York…
Lopez Playground, Park Hill Staten Island
Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 1:02pm. 100 Views, 0 Comments.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, a large parcel of land on Staten Island’s East Shore was purchased by the president of the Staten Island Savings Bank, Louis Henry Meyer. Upon this land, Meyer built his estate, which he 
named Fox Hill Villa. Many nearby places were soon named after his estate. In fact, the surrounding community was named Fox Hills.
By the twentieth century, much of Fox Hills was made up of the Fox Hills Golf Course and the adjacent Fox Hills Base Hospital. Once these sites disappeared, the area began to be developed for residential use. In 1938, a small parcel of land there was acquired by the City of New York. This site soon came to be known as Fox Hill Playground.
In 1993, the park was transferred over to…
Egbert Triangle, Port Richmond Staten Island
Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 10:55am. 72 Views, 0 Comments.
Staten
Island is home to many green spaces which hold war memorials. In the northern section of the 
borough, you
can find Egbert Triangle, named for one of the members of the Egbert family. The Egbert family first settled on Staten
Island in the seventeenth century. Over
the years, many of them became prominent members of Staten Island’s
society. In fact, there was even a
neighborhood named after them near the center of Staten Island—Egbertville which is commonly referred to as New Dorp Heights.
One of the members of this prominent family was Arthur Stanley Egbert, who was once a conductor of the Richmond Light and Rail Road Company. After the First World War began, Egbert became a Seaman apprentice for the United States…
Northerleigh Park, Westerleigh Staten Island
Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 10:51am. 116 Views, 0 Comments.
During the latter part of the nineteenth century, the neighborhood of Westerleigh was known as Prohibition Park. At the time, the site housed many recreational activities for members of the temperance movement, so it’s no surprise that once the neighborhood began to be developed, a few parks were created.
In the early part of the twentieth century, the National Prohibition Campground Association donated and sold several acres of land to the City of New York. In 1907, three acres of land were purchased by the city. For over half of a century, nothing was done to the three acres of woodlands.
In 1963, the site was assigned to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Shortly after, a baseball field began to be created on the…
South Beach Wetlands, South Beach Staten Island
Wednesday, November 7th, 2012 at 3:25pm. 243 Views, 0 Comments.
To the west of Father Capodanno Boulevard and located right next to Ocean Breeze Park, there is a small wetland that 
is about 5 acres in size called South Beach Wetlands. This wetland became a part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in December of 1999 and was named after the neighborhood in which it is located, South Beach.
Although this may not be a regular park that you would take your children to, it is still an important part of Staten Island. The South Beach Wetlands is one of the many parks on Staten Island that is more of a nature preserve, even though it may not be classified as one of the Forever Wild Nature Preserves. This park has been left to its own devices and is made up of marshy areas--as well as forest…
Ocean Breeze Park, South Beach Staten Island
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at 3:42pm. 301 Views, 0 Comments.
On the eastern shore of Staten Island's Mid-Island section, you can find Ocean Breeze Park. This park is right across the street from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and behind Staten Island University Hospital North and the South Beach Psychiatric Center. Ocean Breeze Park is an approximately 110-acre nature preserve that has been undergoing some changes.
Before the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation took over this land to make it a park, the land was a part of Staten Island University Hospital. Prior to becoming a park and as a park today, the land is filled with sand dunes, wetlands, shrub forests, and grassland areas. With Ocean Breeze Park containing all of these natural habitats, the New York City Department of Parks and…
Terrace Playground, Grymes Hill Staten Island
Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at 2:13pm. 207 Views, 0 Comments.
P.S. 35 was established in 1907 in the neighborhood of Stapleton. By the middle of the twentieth century, the school was 
moved to 60 Foote Avenue, in the Grymes Hill neighborhood. Around that time, an adjacent plot of land was acquired by New York City. This less-than-two-acres parcel was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, as well as the New York City Board of Education.
In 1953, when the site had opened as a park, it was called P.S. 35 Playground. At that time, the park was given basketball courts, handball courts, play equipment, and shuffleboard areas. A plaque was erected in the park in 1997 to commemorate the opening of the park.
Since P.S. 35 is known as the Clove Valley School, the adjacent playground's…
Silver Lake Park, Silver Lake Staten Island
Thursday, August 16th, 2012 at 1:44pm. 223 Views, 0 Comments.
For centuries, ice harvesting
had been a big part of the winter season.
During the 19th century, the harvesting of Silver Lake’s ice
was very important. During the remaining
seasons, the lake was used for swimming, boating, fishing, and ice
skating. The area also held 1897’s
National Skating Amateur Championship races.
Around 1911, refrigerators were made available to the United States,
rendering the industry of ice harvesting useless. In 1917, Silver Lake was drained to be used
as a reservoir. It was later replaced by underground storage tanks.
Silver Lake Park was Staten Island’s first established city park. By the end of the 19th century, the growing population called for a park that could match the attraction of Central…
Old Town Playground, South Beach Staten Island
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 at 12:22pm. 225 Views, 0 Comments.
Old Town Playground is a small parcel of land, which is roughly two and a half acres in
each Houses complex, which was built across the street from this site. Just a few years later, the Board of Estimate transferred the property to be operated by both the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Board of Education. This was due to the fact that Old Town Playground is located next to Public School 46.
Old Town Playground received its name from the first settlement that was set up on Staten Island. This park was in the confines of this settlement when it was first established. Since the original settlement was split up into a few neighborhoods, today the park sits in the neighborhood of South Beach.
Old Town Playground houses more…
