Activity 10 -Maya Jourieh

The trip to Fresh Kills Park in Staten Island was pretty interesting. I learned a few new things about what used to the the dump. However, being that I live on Staten Island, I do not like the idea that it is known for that dump.
I never knew how big the area they were redeveloping is. It is pretty exciting to think that something that used to be known to be so disgusting is going to be turned to something amazing.
Fresh Kills, lived up to it’s name and used to be “fresh”. Prior to being dumped on, it was all flat wetlands, completely natural, and wild life has roamed that lands. It wasn’t until 1948 that New York City’s garbage had completely flooded what used to be so beautiful and had turned it to a filthy wasteland. In 2001, it was decided that Fresh Kills should be cleared once again and the city should rid Staten Island of this dump.
The city got rid of a lot garbage, however, they covered up the rest with soil, creating four different mounds on the land. Not only did this clean up the land, but it prevented the waters from being any further polluted; the water now is said to be clean. To cover the mounds of garbage they covered the garbage with a soil barrier layer, followed a gas vent layer, a drainage layer, then a barrier protection material, lastly by soil and then the grass and trees. It’s like cover up for a blemish, you can’t tell that these used to be mounds of garage. These mouds a pretty high as well; however, providing us with a beautiful view of the Verrazanno Bridge, Manhattan, the Goethals Bridge, the Outerbridge, the Bayonne bridge, and the parachute drop in Coney Island (that I could personally not see).
When this park is completed in 30 years it is said that it will be the second largest park in New York. Developers plan on making it available for certain activities such as kayaking, canoeing, sporting fields, bike tracks, horse trails, ski slopes, bird watching towers, and more.
This will certainly change the view of Staten Island in the years to come.