Prodigy Real Estate - SI NY Real Estate Blog - Anthony Licciardello

Skyline Playground, New Brighton Staten Island

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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Staats Circle, Grasmere Staten Island

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.

During the 1970s, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation had to surrender the property to the New York City Department of Transportation, who was working on a construction project there.  While working on traffic improvements, the New York City Department of Transportation had to…

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Stapleton Playground, Stapleton Staten Island

In 1895, a school building was erected in the neighborhood of Stapleton at the corner of Broad Street and what is now Wright Street.  This school, Public School 14, was later moved to 100 Tompkins Avenue-not too far from the original 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.

When P.S. 14 Playground first opened, it was divided into three sections.  The first section had a comfort station, a rack for bicycles, a sand pit, seesaws, slides, swings, and a wading pool.  The second section housed…

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Tompkinsville Park, Tompkinsville Staten Island

Long before any settlements were established on Staten Island, explorers would visit the island to obtain fresh water from a spring on Staten Island's northeastern shore.  Once people began to settle on Staten Island, this well-known fact led to the naming of a settlement here as Watering Place.  Eventually, the settlement turned into a neighborhood, which came to be known as Tompkinsville.  It was named after a nineteenth-century governor of the State of New York, Daniel D. Tompkins.

In 1916, a seven-foot monument was sculpted by Allen G. Newman and given to the City of New York.  The monument, known as The Hiker, was constructed to honor the soldiers who fought during the Spanish-American War.  For some time, the monument stood in front of Staten…

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McDonald Playground, West Brighton Staten Island

On the North Shore of Staten Island, at the northeastern corner of Broadway and Forest Avenue, you can find a McDonald's fast food restaurant. Behind this fast food restaurant, to the northeast, you can find McDonald Playground, whose northern boundary is Myrtle Avenue.  It may be hard to believe, but it is actually by mere coincidence that the McDonald's fast food restaurant and McDonald Playground are located right next to each other, as neither of the two facilities were named due to the location of the other one.

McDonald Playground was opened on July 15, 1934.  It was named in honor of Austin J. McDonald, a resident of New York City who had attended the nearby Curtis High School.  McDonald entered the First World War in 1917 and was killed in…

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Markham Playground, Willowbrook Staten Island

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 twentieth…

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Mahoney Playground, New Brighton Staten Island

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 City Housing…

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Lopez Playground, Park Hill Staten Island

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 the New York…

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Egbert Triangle, Port Richmond Staten Island

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 Navy, a position that…

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Northerleigh Park, Westerleigh Staten Island

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 site by the…

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