Skyline Playground, New Brighton Staten Island
Posted by Anthony Licciardello on
In the late nineteenth century, a school building was constructed in the current neighborhood of New Brighton. The school, Public School 17, underwent many renovations and additions while it stood. Almost one century after the 
school was initially built, a schoolyard and tot lot were constructed next to the building, above Arnold Street and to the east of Clyde Place. Not long after the construction of the schoolyard and tot lot, a fire destroyed the school building and it was replaced by Public School 31, which was constructed further northeast in the neighborhood. Although the school was no longer in use, maintenance of the tot lot was taken up by the current Cottages Hill Tenant Association, a community group.
The New York City Department of…
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The First World War, as you may know, drafted many Americans into the war. One of these men was Frederick Staats, a Staten Island resident who worked for Staten Island Rapid Transit. After having entered the war, Staats was killed in 1918, at the age of twenty-three. Ten years later, the New York City Board of Aldermen, now the New York City Council, decided to name a parcel of land after him. It was named Frederick Staats Circle, due to the shape of the land.
site. Shortly after the school was moved, in 1947, the City of New York decided that they wanted to create a playground for Public School 14. By 1951, P.S. 14 Playground opened under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the New York City Board of Education.
