For One Day Only, Tour 300 Acres of Freshkills Park
Freshkills Park is the largest landfill reclamation project of its kind in the world, and aside from a weekly public (but escorted) program, it remains a closed site during its massive transformation. Now, the park is ready to give New York inhabitants a better look at what’s underway, letting visitors roam free across more than 300 acres of the 2,200 acre park on September 28th from 11AM-4PM. The event, which celebrates the New Springville Greenway, will be like no other, offering up a flurry of fun outdoor activities and music and, above all, a chance to experience the impressive infrastructural project as it moves forward.
The Sneak ‘Peak’ will provide a glimpse into the ultimate offer of the park, which when complete 2035, will be almost three times the size of Central Park and the largest park developed in New York City in over 100 years. In fact, the site is so big that it can support many sports, programs and features that aren’t often found in the city, including horseback riding, mountain biking, nature trails, kayaking, and large-scale public art. Some of the events planned for the festival will revolve around the park’s future offer and include:
- Live music and DJs
- Kayaking
- Kite flying
- Bicycling
- Rock climbing
- Pony rides
- Public art and performance
- Tours and talks on the park and the plants and animals that inhabit it
- Over 30 community led workshops
(AÂ full list can be found here.)
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore the precedent project. Fresh Kills has become a model for landscape design and reclamation around the world, having been transformed from a toxic wasteland into a vast green space full of wildlife. The project also reintroduces creeks, wetlands, expansive meadows and the spectacular vistas of the region formerly lost to New York City.
All the event details, including how to get there, can be found here.
[Related: Scoping Out Staten Island: New Developments in the Oft-Forgotten Borough]
Images courtesy of the Freshkills Park Alliance
