Eibs Pond Park is located on the North Shore of Staten Island. The park is bordered by the streets of Mosel Avenue, Palma Drive, and Hanover Avenue. Eibs Pond Park is approximately 17 acres of protected wetlands and is made up of three separate ponds.
Eibs Pond Park received its name from the Eibs family that lived on this land from the 1800s until 1971. The Eibs were a German-American family who used this land as a dairy farm in the 1800s. The Eibs used what is now known as Eibs Pond as a watering hole for their horses and cows.
Starting in the early 20th century Eibs pond was used for more than the Eibs' family watering hole. In 1914, the site of the pond was used in a couple of movies. Firstly, it was used in several episodes of The Perils of Pauline. Secondly, it was used in Birth of a Nation for the Civil War battles. After the filming of the movies, the pond was used as a water hazard for the Fox Hill Golf Club from 1915 to 1935. During the winter months the golf club used the frozen lake for curling competitions. Finally, from 1944 to 1945, this parcel of land was used as a military base to hold Italian prisoners. After the military base was closed, the land was left to its own devices.
Eibs Pond was once the largest kettle pond in New York City, covering about 3 acres of land. In the 1960s, the southern end of the pond was filled in so it could be used for a parking lot for the housing on Steuben Street and Weser Avenue. In the 1970s, the Urban Investment Development Company 
wanted to use this land to build an apartment building and a multi-story hotel that would overlook the pond. In 1981, the Wetlands Protection Act was passed by Congress. Due to the effect that building would have had on the ecological site, the Urban Investment Development Company donated the land to the Trust for Public Land instead.
The Trust for Public Land was going to use the upper section of Eibs Pond Park as a low-income housing area and the bottom section as a natural habitat. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation decided to make Eibs Pond and its surrounding area, which consisted of about 8 acres of land, as a protected wetland in 1987. In 1989, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation added this land to its parks. The Trust for Public Land donated the other 9 acres of land to the New York City Department of Parks a
nd Recreation in 1999, which completed the park.
Eibs Pond Park has three separate ponds in it. The largest of the three is Eibs Pond, which sits on the southern end of the park. Along with Eibs Pond, there is the small pond that sits next to it. The third pond is on the northern end of the park and is called Hattie's Pond. Eibs Pond Park was left as a natural habitat and there were only wood-chipped trails added to it. The park is home to more than eighty different species of birds and many other species of animals and fish. The park is also home to many species of plant life in and out of the ponds.
Posted by Anthony Licciardello on
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