Preserving The Greenbelt - Still Trying....

Back in the early months of 2003, our association discussed the issue of de-mapping the Willowbrook Parkway and the portion of the Richmond Parkway (now called the Korean War Veterans Parkway) that dissect the 2800 acres of the Staten Island Greenbelt.
This is an issue that has been debated here since 1930 when Robert Moses presented his master plan for the New York City parkway system.

At our May 2003 meeting, GCCA President Elena Brady and GCCA member Joe Goldie presented opposing sides of the issue. Our members then voted to support the movement to de-map the roadways, which, in effect, would preserve the woodlands.

This letter was then drafted and sent to our local officials:




Mr. John Rooney, a staunch advocate of the de-mapping process, soon followed with this letter to the associated parties:




Earlier this week, nearly 5 years later, this bill was introduced by Assemblyman Cusick. It would transfer the unbuilt rights of way of the Willowbrook and Richmond Parkways to the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation and the State Department of Environmental Conservation and designating such lands as parklands.
It also has the support of Assemblywoman Janelle Hyer-Spencer, Assemblyman Lou Tobacco, and Assemblyman Matthew Titone.

We'll have to keep an eye on this.