Staten Island Greenbelt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses of Greenbelt and Green belt, see Green belt (disambiguation).

The Staten Island Greenbelt is a system of contiguous public parkland and natural areas in the central hills of Staten Island, New York, United States. It is the second largest component of the parks owned by the City of New York and is maintained by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.

Somewhat underused, it is one of the largest natural areas within the five boroughs of New York City and provides the most extensive system of connected trails within the city. In contrast to other parks such as Central Park and Prospect Park, the Greenbelt is maintained in a more natural state, both in the forested hills and the lowlying wetlands.

In the 1960s, the original route of the Richmond Parkway called for a section of the parkway to be built in the area, but community opposition prevented construction, and the parkway instead now terminates near the intersection of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue in the island's Greenridge section, south of the Greenbelt. Remnants of construction can be seen from the Staten Island Expressway between the Clove Road and Bradley Avenue exits, which are referred to as the abandoned highways. They are a little west of the Petrides school complex.

In 1982, 25 acres (100,000 m²) of city-owned land, which heretofore had belonged to the New York City Farm Colony, were added to the Greenbelt; this tract is located on the west side of Rockland Avenue, from Brielle Avenue almost to Forest Hill Road.

The administrative headquarters of the Greenbelt are located at the entrance to High Rock Park (one of the many parks within the system) with a street address of 200 Nevada Avenue in the Egbertville neighborhood; in June of 2004 a second facility, known as the Greenbelt Nature Center, was opened approximately ¾ mile (1.2 km) away, at 700 Rockland Avenue.