Fresh Kills Park Project

Regulatory and Technical Reviews

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)

While design work is progressing on the first park projects, Fresh Kills Landfill is not yet a park. For land to have the protections that come with park designation, it must be officially mapped as parkland through the City’s official Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

More ULURP Information – NYC Department of City Planning Download the Fresh Kill ULURP Presentation – Mapping Proposal (PDF, 2.7MB)

Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS)

On May 16, 2008, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation issued the Notice of Completion for the Fresh Kills Park Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS). The chapters of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) are available for download as individual PDF documents.  Pursuant to state and local law, the DGEIS identifies any potential adverse environmental effects of proposed actions, assesses their significance, and proposes measures to eliminate or mitigate significant impacts.

Public Scoping Meeting and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)

On May 24, 2006, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation held a public scoping meeting on the Scope of Work for a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to be prepared for the proposed Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island. Thanks to all who provided comments and assistance in reviewing the Draft Scope of Work to Prepare a Generic Environmental Impact Statement.

The Final Scope of Work to Prepare a Generic Environmental Impact Statement is now available as a downloadable PDF file. This document contains a compilation of all the comments received by DPR on the draft scope and also incorporates revisions to the draft. Changes between ther draft and final scopes are indicated by double-underlined text.

The Final Scope of Work will guide the preparation of a GEIS for Fresh Kills Park. We will be circulating copies of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Summer 2007.

Timeline

The Draft Master Plan offers a framework for development to guide the site’s evolution over the next thirty years. This timeline is broken down into three ten-year phases:

To assure that the park’s long-range construction does not become a waiting period, but is a time of dynamic change with access to the extraordinary “public space in-process,” phasing is choreographed in project sets. Each project set is independent of the others and is capable of being developed concurrently or in sequence. The Draft Master Plan focuses on executing a carefully-planned first phase of development that will initiate active use of the park, generate enthusiasm and commitment on the part of stakeholders, and propel later phases of development. Phase I would occur over the first ten years of the park’s development, with projects and facilities opening throughout this period.

Phase 1

Major outcomes of Phase 1 include:

• Portions of the South Park and North Park and the Confluence open to the public
• Completion of the Loop drive and links to the West Shore Expressway
• First recreational facilities complete and in operation
• Early programs and settings for non-profit and commercial initiative
• Visible progress of ecological transformation underway
• Establishment of new parkland identity
• East and West Mounds closed and capped

Phase 2

With much of the park infrastructure in place, Phase 2 concentrates on enhancing program settings and ecology. Major outcomes of Phase 2 include:

• East Park opens
• Additional recreational facilities, public space and ecology improvements in North Park, South Park and the Confluence
• Paths, trails and boatways extended
• Range of non-profit and commercial ventures built and animating the park’s public spaces.

Phase 3

Phase 3 expands the acreage open to the public and converts landfill infrastructure to support new uses. Major outcomes of Phase 3 include:

• West park natural areas and public landscapes significantly expanded; development of the Arthur Kill edge of the park
• The Point program areas built out and highly active
• Continued emergence of new habitats

North Park

North Park is envisioned as the most habitat–oriented and passive recreation area of Fresh Kills Park. This section is 254 acres, which includes 112 off–mound acres and 142 on–mound acres. North Park is bordered by the Travis neighborhood and the West Shore Expressway to the west, the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge and Main Creek to the north and east, and the proposed loop drive to the south. Schmul Park, an existing Travis neighborhood park, is also slated to be refurbished and become part of North Park. Construction will begin in 2009, and the area will be open to the public in 2010.

 

Roads System

A publicly accessible road system will be a major feature of Fresh Kills Park. The road will provide access to the different areas of the park and create an alternative connection between the West Shore Expressway (Route 440) and Richmond Avenue. Transportation consultants are currently examining the technical feasibility of two alternate routes through the site and six road alignment alternatives, with design variables that include the number of lanes, location of landfill infrastructure and wetland impacts.

The Staten Island Borough President has identified the road system as top priority, and thus the Parks Department has placed the road construction as part of the first phase capital program. Construction of the roads is scheduled to begin in 2009.
Issues such as the differential settlement of the mounds, weight constraints on sensitive infrastructure and the viablilty of flexible pavement are being analyzed as well. Regardless of the final alignment and design of the roads, the Parks Department is committed to building a road that meets Federal AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) safety standards, accommodates present and future traffic needs, and has a mitigated visual impact on the site.

Schmul Park

Schmul Park, nestled within the Travis neighborhood, has been redesigned as part of North Park’s development. Now a park composed largely of blacktopped surfaces with little green space, the new plan aims to create a greener park with softer, more engaging play spaces. The goal of the redevelopment of Schmul is to create an open park for the community and to connect the neighborhood with the rest of Fresh Kills Park. Another important objective of the park is to be as environmentally conscious as possible. The park includes a playground, handball and basketball courts, flowering meadow and native grass areas, comfort station, rain garden, and lawn. The play area contains a series of rubber mounds. The largest mound will be 6 feet in height containing a slide and a climbing wall on its sides. A spray shower and different kinds of play equipment will be provided.

Owl Hollow

Owl Hollow is a 21–acre area park that is adjacent to Fresh Kills Park and Arden Woods. It is designed to include four synthetic turf soccer fields (two of which will be lighted), a loop pedestrian path encircling the fields, a comfort station, parking, and landscaped lawn areas.

The comfort station, designed by the New York based architecture firm, Sage + Coombe Architects, will be a LEED certified building. It will have a green roof, geothermal heating and cooling, and a wind turbine. The building will include public bathrooms, an office for Parks Maintenance and Operations personnel, and a covered outdoor area with a built–in bench for waiting and picnicking. Construction at Owl Hollow is expected to begin in late 2008.