As a Staten Islander, i found this trip very interesting. I've grown up on Staten Island all my life, and no of Fresh Kills as "the dump." Its not fun being known as the borough with the dump either, so hearing about all the cool things this area is going to turn into was awesome!
From what is understood, Fresh Kills used to be beautiful; Completely flat, wetlands containing wildlife and lakes. Currently, you could tell how flat it used to be, however now there are 4 HUGE mounds in which contain NYC garbage, 150 tons a day from 1948 to 2001: pretty gross to stand on those mounds knowing that information.
The way they covered up the garbage is pretty interesting. First they put a soil barrier layer, then a gas vent layer, then a drainage layer, then a barrier protection material, followed by soil and then the grass and trees. You definitely cant tell that its garbage mounds. And the view from up there is pretty amazing as well. Some things that are visible are : the Outerbridge crossing, the Verrazanno Bridge, the Bayonne bridge, the Goethals Bridge, the NYC skyline, and the parachute drop in Coney Island.
The water that is in Freshkills Park was surprisingly clean, clear, and blue. The water looked gorgeous, actually. Not that i was thinking garbage would be everywhere but i thought it was at least going to look dirty. i was pleasantly surprised about that.
This park is going to be the 2ND largest in NY, 2200 acres ! ( which is 3 times the size of central park!) Its going to have kayaking, canoeing, sporting fields, bike tracks, horse trails, ski slopes, bird watching towers, and so much more. This is definitely going to give Staten Island a better reputation, which is just what this borough needs.
The park plans to open a section of soccer fields by next year. and the rest of the park will be opening up little by little within the next 30 years.
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