Staten Island, New York
2009

From the Staten Island Ferry landing along Richmond Terrace to Mariners Marsh, the five-mile stretch of Staten Island’s North Shore is an urban mosaic of historic ship-building era remains, active port facilities and ad hoc industries. The challenge presented the necessity for balancing further private development of the port with much-needed public space for the inland park-poor neighborhoods. The opportunity to celebrate the maritime heritage of the North Shore served as the underpinning of a multifaceted cultural landscape of commerce, industry, ecology and community.

The proposed landscape armature features civic promenades above and along the waterfront, ‘neighborhood landings’ as parks on the Kill van Kull, a rejuvenated Snug Harbor Heritage Center along a reclaimed shore, and coves with sunken boat carcasses supporting restored salt marshes. Denying the assumption that the port operations and community resources are mutually exclusive, the hybrid landscape of the North Shore becomes a model for industry co-existing with wildlife habitats and urban parks.

Clients + Collaborators

New York City Economic Development Corporation; Parsons Brinckerhoff; Green Shield Ecology; Historical Perspectives, Inc.