The site, which has never been open to the public, is located atop the Pennsylvania and Fountain Avenue landfills, which were utilized by the City Department of Sanitation between 1956 and 1983. The new park exemplifies the constructive use of a formerly polluted site. During rehabilitation, the State Parks Department collaborated with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to safeguard public health and the environment. Approximately 100,000 dump trucks' worth of clean dirt was placed up to four feet thick throughout the site, which was also planted with over 35,000 trees and bushes. Prairie grass and native plants were placed to minimize erosion and to provide a diversified coastal meadow, wetland, and forest environment. The National Park Service and the City of New York, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the DEP, are developing Shirley Chisholm State Park. The new park is part of Governor Cuomo's Vital Brooklyn Initiative, which aims for the construction or improvement of 34 new or upgraded parks, gardens, playgrounds, and recreation facilities within a ten-minute walk of each central Brooklyn resident.
As we approach the close of a year unlike any other, our crew is filled with appreciation for the strength of NYC's cycling community. In the face of uncertainty and struggle, bike riders have banded together to watch out for their neighbors, raise their voices, and protect those who have sacrificed their lives to rescue others. We've always known that bikes are so much more than wheels and gears, but in 2020, the world discovered the incredible things our pedals are capable of powering. This Giving Tuesday, we ask you to consider the impact of your generosity...
The park's path system ascends from Fresh Creek and Jamaica Bay, winding through forested regions and into the park's steep core.
A steep switchback leads to the landfill's highest point. On this far edge of the park, vistas of the city are almost nonexistent, and the dump nearly seems natural.
In Brooklyn, New York, there is a state park.
Shirley Chisholm State Park is a newly constructed 407-acre (1.65 km2) state park in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded on the north by the Belt Parkway and Spring Creek Park, and on the south by Jamaica Bay, and is built on the site of the old Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue Landfills. The park's initial phases debuted in 2019 and are planned to be finished by 2021.
