Stadium Esplanade

The Stadium Esplanade is a beautiful, new city park that stretches along the St. George waterfront from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to a residential neighborhood approximately one mile west of the terminal. It was created as a compliment to the adjacent minor league baseball stadium. It accommodates new pedestrian and car traffic patterns as well as parking needs created by stadium.

The Esplanade Park features foot paths that miander along the waterfront and criss-cross through the newly created gardens that are landscaped in an organic style with indigenous plants, reeds and trees. Many of these paths end in spectacular views of the inner harbor. The southern skyline of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as well as more unusual views like the giant, circular industrial oil tanks across the Kill Van Kull and impressive passing freighters can all be seen from these shores. For the convenience of commuters the park is rimmed with a sidewalk and bike path that provide a quick, direct access to the ferry terminal.

The ferry end of the park features large wooden benches that accommodate tourists, weary commuters, and passers-by in a boardwalk setting. The park ends at the mouth of Jersey Street an active intersection which is flanked by an aging but active warehouse and the Projects. As you walk from one end of the park to another the boardwalk feel gradually gives way to lush gardens that take advantage of the aquatic environment and remnants of decay left by the previous incarnation that the area. Before the renovation this area of the Staten Island shoreline was home to raw black gravel parking lots and over grown, abandoned train yard terminals. Looking into Staten Island from the park one may feel the architectural influence of being close to the seat of Staten Island government, Borough Hall, the court house and a police station are all housed less than a quarter mile from the park. There is also a private school and some private residences just above the park.

The park is still very new, so it is hard to say definitively who will use it. But it is sure to be a treat for commuters who travel, on foot, bike and in cars, to and from Manhattan every day. It is a place to lounge before and after baseball games as well as, and this may be its most long awaited attribute, the long awaited reason to get off of the ferry for tourists who take the world famous ferry to Staten Island to get off the boat.

The opportunities for artists in the park are many and varied. One can imaging using the water and harbor views themselves as sites for potential artworks. The walking paths along the shore are rich with opportunity for the placement of sculptures or installations. One could also imagine using the park as a place for performances or interventions of one sort or another. The thing to remember is the park sits at a major transportation hub. Many buses routes, the train, the ferry all originate from this general area. It is also the place where Staten Islanders from all walks of life come in contact with each other. In short, the park is a site of respite for Staten Island's major point of contact and interface with the world.

Research Articles

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