Last Chance Pond Park: Dongan Hills, Staten Island
Posted by Anthony Licciardello on
With the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, many residents of Brooklyn and other nearby places 
began to move to Staten Island. With the increase of Staten Island's population and housing, a decrease occurred in Staten Island's undeveloped areas and many of the natural habitats found in the borough began to disappear. Many of Staten Island's current parks would today be plots of land taken up by houses and buildings if it were not for the residents of Staten Island who did not want to see the beautiful natural habitats destroyed. If you look into the past of Staten Island's parks, you will hear many stories about how members of the communities worked together to preserve these places. One such story is that of Last Chance Pond Park, which…
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Staten Island's past. Nonetheless, the two were included in what soon became Alice Austen Park, with the addresses of the homes being 2 Hylan Boulevard and 30 Hylan Boulevard.
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.
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.
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.
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.
concession stands, a carousel, Vaudeville performance, a pool, and more. There were also small hotels which lined the beach for vacationers. During the first third of the 20th century, fires began to destroy what had developed into a summer resort. While Happyland was rebuilt each time, it finally saw its end in the early 1930's, when the rebuilding of the park proved to be financially futile.
De Matti enrolled in the United States Army and became a Private during World War I. He served in the 78th Division of the United States Army and was part of Company K in the 310th Infantry. While serving the country overseas, in France, he died in action on September 26th, 1918.
the only honor which made General MacArthur significant, though. In 1937, he had decided to retire, but was called back to the United States Army in 1941. It wasn't until 1951 that General Douglas MacArthur retired a second time, after having become a very decorated soldier.
Located in the neighborhood of Dongan Hills is the Dongan Playground. It is bounded by streets on three sides and a school on the fourth side. The three streets that border the park are Buel Avenue, Mason Avenue, and Dongan Hills Avenue. The school that is located next to the park is Public School 52.