| Last Chance Pond Park | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Last Chance Pond Park | |
| Type | Wetland park |
| Location | Staten Island,New York City, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°35′03″N74°05′56″W / 40.5841°N 74.0989°W /40.5841; -74.0989 |
| Area | 3.903 acres (1.579 ha)[1] |
| Owned by | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Status | Open all year |
| Water | New Creek stream |
| Website | www |
Last Chance Pond Park is a wetland park located onStaten Island'sEast Shore and part of the main channel of theNew Creek stream and theStaten Island Bluebelt in New York City. Located on the northeast migrationflyway, Last Chance Pond Park hosts a wide range of local flora and fauna that visit and live in the landscape of the park that includes two saltwater marshes, a fresh spring, and a freshwater pond.[2] The park was named after the Last Chance Pond and Wilderness Foundation which helped to preserve the site starting in the mid-1960s.[3]
Before the completion of theVerrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the neighborhood ofDongan Hills contained mostly wetlands, one and two-family detached homes, and garden apartments. The park area had 50 lots that were previously undeveloped wetlands with "no trails or signs indicating the pond's presence."[4] With the bridge opening the residents had concerns about developers "buy[ing] old homes, tear[ing] them down and build[ing] town houses, changing the neighborhood's character."[5]
The Last Chance Pond and Wilderness Foundation was established in the mid 1960 by local residents Lou Caravone and John Mouner to preserve the existing multiplicity-owned wetlands in the face of "rapid, uncheck development."[2] However, at the time more than a third of the lots were owned byNew York City and the baseball little league and theNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation had temporarily designated the site as a "tidal wetland." Private developers also did not have "serious plans to build on the site" due to the upfront cost to fill and drain the wetland.[6]
With political support, the foundation was able to get the New York State Nature and Historical Preserve Trust (now theNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation) to purchase land and donate it to the city. As a result, the park was officially established in 1999 with natural woodland, marshes, and a pond.
In 2019, as a part of the funding from Mid-Island Bluebelt Phase II[7] and New Creek Bluebelt project, the pond and wetland areas was rebuilt to provide a natural filter for excess runoff.[8]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)40°35′02″N74°05′57″W / 40.58389°N 74.09917°W /40.58389; -74.09917
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