(IO) 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PARKS 



OF THE 



STATEN ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



Adopted at a meeting- held in First National Bank Building-, 

 St. George, S. I., December 19, 1902. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The establishment of a Park System in the Borough of 

 Richmond, New York City, should be considered a public 

 measure ; the benefits of which will be felt not only in the 

 Borough in which these Parks are situated, but to a large degree 

 in the Borough of Manhattan. When it is furthermore taken 

 into consideration that the proposed Park System would embrace 

 the highest point of land on the Atlantic Coast between Maine 

 and Florida, and is the only point in the State of New York from 

 which a grand ocean view can be obtained from so high an 

 elevation, the establishment of a Park on Staten Island not un- 

 like the establishment of a State Park at Niagara Falls, becomes 

 a matter of interest to the State at large. 



As a matter of general interest it should also be borne in 

 mind that Staten Island embraces the most Southern point in the 

 State of New York and contains many places of historic interest. 



Prompted by a feeling of pride in the great City of New 

 York, of which the Borough of Richmond is an important part, 

 an earnest effort has been made to formulate a plan for the es- 

 tablishment of Parks which will reflect credit on the City of New 

 York, as well as the Borough of Richmond. 



The experience of the past has shown that for many years 

 the natural advantages of the Borough of Richmond have at- 

 tracted large numbers of citizens from Manhattan to the view- 

 commanding hills, the beautiful woods, the picturesque lakes, 

 and the attractive seashore of Staten Island, a fact which leads 

 us to believe that the establishment of Parks embracing the many 

 beautiful points mentioned, if made easily accessible from Man- 

 hattan, would prove attractive to a very large number of resi- 

 dents of Lower and Central Manhattan, to whom the Richmond 

 Borough Park System would be of easier access than for instance 

 the Parks in the Bronx. 



Another feature of Staten Island which entitles it to con- 

 sideration for Park purposes is the interesting fact that its native 

 plant life includes about 1,200 species, some of them not found 

 elsewhere in New York State. This is a larger number of 



