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Public park opens at the former site of world’s largest landfill

Fun VLOG October 16, 2023
A large portion of Freshkills Park has opened on the site of what was once the largest landfill on Earth
A large portion of Freshkills Park has opened on the site of what was once the largest landfill on Earth (Picture: DON EMMERT / AFP, Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

The first portion of a public park has opened in New York City on top of a site that was once home to the world’s largest landfill.

North Park, a 21-acre public park officially opened on Staten Island with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday.

It is the first major milestone of a massive, decades-long project to clean up the Fresh Kills Landfill, the city’s notorious dump, and turn it into Freshkills Park.

‘We all remember Fresh Kills – there was nothing fresh about the smell that came out here. It killed,’ New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

CARTERET, NJ - JULY 4: Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island in New York City is seen from the air on July 4, 2022, in Carteret, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
An aerial view of the mostly undeveloped Freshkills Park, which will become the second-largest in the city upon completion (Picture: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
The New York City parks department offers the public a chance to view the new Fresh Kills Park, built on top of what used to be the largest trash dump in the world. The park, an example of a huge urban engineering project in its transformation, will eventually be four times larger than Central Park, and is expected to take thirty years to fully convert to public recreational use. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Kayakers are seen in the Fresh Kills, the waterway near the park and former landfill (Picture: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

For over 50 years, Fresh Kills Landfill took in trash from all five boroughs. It was finally closed in 2001, but work on restoring the site has progressed slowly.

‘This became the largest landfill on the globe, filled with New Yorkers’ household garbage. People became complacent and stated that there was nothing we could do,’ Mayor Adams said. ‘It was ugly, it was unsanitary, it had a terrible smell coming from here.’

The project is scheduled to finish by 2036. The fully completed Freshkills Park will encompass the entire 2,200 acre site – making it about three times as large as Central Park in Manhattan.

The newly opened portion will be powered by on-site solar panels and feature self-composting restrooms.

The New York City parks department offers the public a chance to view the new Fresh Kills Park, built on top of what used to be the largest trash dump in the world. The park, an example of a huge urban engineering project in its transformation, will eventually be four times larger than Central Park, and is expected to take thirty years to fully convert to public recreational use. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Children fly kites at the newly opened portions of Freshkills Park (Picture: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Manhattan can be seen in the background as a crane moves World Trade Center debris at the Fresh Kills Landfill 14 January, 2002. Crews at ground zero have removed 951,272 tons of debris and steel as of 03 January, according to city officials. That is roughly three fourths of the 1.2 million tons that covered the area at the outset, according to estimates by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. AFP PHOTO Don EMMERT (Photo by DON EMMERT / AFP) (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
The Fresh Kills Landfill was finally closed in 2001 after decades of complaints and petitions from Staten Islanders (Picture: DON EMMERT / AFP)

‘It is a marvel of human ingenuity and engineering – turning the refuse of the past into shared space for our future – a future of sustainability and respect for our environment,’ Mayor Adams said.

The Fresh Kills landfill opened in 1948, and was only intended to be a temporary dump for the city. However, most of the city’s trash was flowing to the landfill by 1955.

The efforts to clean up Fresh Kills began in 2001, when then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani fulfilled a campaign promise to close the dump.

The site was briefly reopened to store rubble and refuse from the 9/11 terror attacks. For years, investigators combed through the rubble stored at Fresh Kills to find remains of those trapped in the World Trade Centers.

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Workers sift through debris from the World Trade Center at Fresh Kills Landfill 14 January, 2002. Workers search for personal property and remains of those who perished in the collapse. Crews at ground zero have removed 951,272 tons of debris and steel as of 03 January, according to city officials. That is roughly three fourths of the 1.2 million tons that covered the area at the outset, according to estimates by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. AFP PHOTO/Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Crews at Fresh Kills Landfill sift through 951,272 tons of debris and steel recovered from Ground Zero (Picture: DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Smashed vehicles recovered from the World Trade Center site are stacked at Fresh Kills Landfill in New York 14 January, 2002. The wreckage and rubble from the World Trade Center attacks 11 September 2001 are sent to Fresh Kills where crews are picking through the rubble and are setting aside thousands of sad mementos of the tragedy. Crews working at ground zero have removed 951,272 tons of debris and steel as of 03 January, according to city officials. AFP PHOTO/Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
The remains of cars destroyed during the 9/11 attacks were transported to Fresh Kills in 2001 (Picture: DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
A twisted rescue ladder on top of a New York City Fire Truck sits among World Trade Center debris at the Fresh Kills Landfill in New York 14 January, 2002. Crews at ground zero have removed 951,272 tons of debris and steel as of 03 January, according to city officials. That is roughly three fourths of the 1.2 million tons that covered the area at the outset, according to estimates by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. AFP PHOTO Don EMMERT (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP) (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
The damaged remains of Fire Department of New York vehicles recovered after they were destroyed responding to the 9/11 attacks (Picture: Don EMMERT / AFP)

Work on the new park began in earnest in 2008, and has progressed slowly over the last decade. Basketball and handball courts were opened near the site in 2012, and a soccer field was opened in 2013.

Sunday’s grand opening for the North Park marks the largest expansion to date. The 21 acres feature bike and foot paths, as well as an overlook deck and a bird watching tower.

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