The ribbon was just cut on Heritage Park in Staten Island today, though it's been open since the spring. The before-and-after image above is evidence of the way certain pockets of New York City can totally transform. Its design incorporates Sandy-inspired flood protections, like a dune buffer. Construction began in 2012, and now the area has walking paths, benches, a parking lot, and views of the Bayonne Bridge. Sure, it took a decade since the Trust for Public Land purchased the old Blissenbach Marina, and then donated the 9.7-acre swath to the Parks department, for the brownfield site to get cleaned up and become a green lung on the waterfront that the public can use and enjoy. But hey, at least it happened, which is more than we can say for pie-in-the-sky projects like the Queensway or the Lowline.
· Heritage Park [official]