Park in Great Kills to be reconstructed

$2.5M project at Seaside to be finished by next fall, Parks Dept. announces

Friday, September 29, 2006

By GLENN NYBACK

ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

Out of the phragmites that for years have shrouded the rocky, littered shoreline of Seaside Nature Park in Great Kills will rise a splendid neighborhood park with scenic pathways leading to a wood-planked nature overlook.

Trees, shrubs and native wetland plantings will flank a gravel trail to wind through the 10-acre park.

Benches throughout will afford visitors expansive views of Great Kills Harbor and the lower New York Bay.

Enthusiastic Parks Department brass, elected officials and neighborhood activists yesterday broke ground on a $2.5 million project to reconstruct an overgrown portion of the park and connect it with the existing wildflower/wildlife garden at the end of Nelson Avenue.

When completed, the park will cover most of the waterfront between Nelson and Cleveland Avenue.

"Are we in Marina del Rey (in Los Angeles)? Are we in the South of France? Are we in San Diego?" Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe asked about 50 people attending the 45-minute ceremony. "No, we're in a much better place. We're on Staten Island. There is no place with a better view than right here."

Invasive phragmites and weeds will be removed and native tidal wetland vegetation like seaside goldenrod, groundsel shrub and sea lavender will be planted around and below the overlook -- which will be slightly raised from the ground -- giving pedestrians the feeling of walking through a true natural area. The entire site will be surrounded by a timber railing.

Work is scheduled to be completed by next fall.

"This place, above all our parks on Staten Island . . . is unrivaled anywhere," said City Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), who lobbied Mayor Michael Bloomberg for $2.1 million and secured the rest in the form of City Council monies. "This is a beautiful place, it is spectacular. We're witnessing something special. This groundbreaking represents the birth of a park and we are here to see it."

"I really am so pleased," said Great Kills resident Anthony Marraccini, who as president of Turnaround Friends has led the cleanup, planting and maintenance of the developed portion of Seaside Nature Park since the Parks Department acquired the area in 1999. "This is a community accomplishment. This is an example of what a community can do. I'm so appreciative."

In future phases, the Parks Department plans to build a playground in the park, and an old pier near Cleveland Avenue will be restored as a recreational fishing pier.

"It's tranquil, it's just perfect," said Rhonda Horowitz of Bay Terrace. "It's a long time coming and it's definitely going to be an asset to this side of the Island."

Linda Cohen, who lives near the park in Great Kills, said the day was bittersweet, since the park plans were unveiled while construction crews were at work on townhouses in Sweetwater Estates, which will abut the park.

"It's like two different worlds on Nelson Avenue: One side is preserved and the other side . . . we don't know yet," she said.

Still, she chose to dwell on the positive: "I think many families will really have many good things here. It's one of the most beautiful places in New York."

Glenn Nyback covers environmental news for the Advance. He may be reached at nyback@siadvance.com.

 

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