Veterans Park is on the North Shore of Staten Island in the neighborhood of Port Richmond. It is fully bordered by streets on three sides, and by a school and a street on the fourth side. Veterans Park is located between the veterans_park_400streets of Park Avenue, Heberton Avenue, Bennett Street and Vreeland Street, as well as by Public School 20.

Veterans Park is one of the oldest parks located on Staten Island. When Staten Island was consolidated into the Greater New York in 1898 there were only three parks on Staten Island. These three parks were Westerleigh Park, Port Richmond Park (now known as Veterans Park), and Washington Square (now known as Tappen Park). Veterans Park was originally designated in 1836, while the community of Port Richmond was being planned out. In 1898, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation obtained this park land and it was known as Port Richmond Park at the time. It wasn't until 1949, when the name of the park changed from Port Richmond Park to Veterans Park. The park had changed names to honor the American Veterans.

Veterans Park has changed from a fenced- in park to an open space park. The park is only a little square parcel of veterans_park_1_400land that is slightly over an acre. This park contains a flag pole in the middle of the park, benches, the Putnam Memorial, and a stone monument. There are also two nice paths that crisscross across the park.

The Putnam Memorial is located on the corner of Vreeland Street and Heberton Avenue, at the entrance to the park. It is a decorative drinking fountain for the park. This memorial was given in honor of Eugene G. Putnam. Eugene Putnam was the principle of Public School 20 for seventeen years. The Putnam Memorial was given to the City of New York by friends of Eugene Putnam, in the school and local community, in 1915. This decorative drinking fountain memorial is made out of Roman stone. It has a carved border around the bowl of the fountain and has two steps in front of it, so that children can reach it.

The stone monument in Veterans Park honors Sullivan's Attack, also known as The Battle of Staten Island. It is located on the Park Street side of the park and is in between the two entrances.  This monument is a naturalveterans_park_2_400 boulder with a plaque on it to commemorate the attack that took place on August 22, 1777, led by General John Sullivan. General John Sullivan planned a night attack against the British troops that were located on Staten Island. This attack ended up being unsuccessful, but it was one of the more important attacks that took place on Staten Island during the American Revolutionary War. The plaque was put in place in 1930 and then the Staten Island Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution rededicated it in 1998.

In 1996, the park was updated with sidewalks, paths, and plantings. The sidewalks and paths were renovated to provide easy access in the park. The paths were lined with benches for the public to enjoy. New trees were planted to make up the two dozen trees that are now in the park. These trees consist of Pin oaks, London planetrees, pine trees, and sweetgums.

Posted by Anthony Licciardello on

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