Fresh Kills Dump

When the Fresh Kills Landfill was established in 1948 the western shore of Staten Island was largely undeveloped. The site was wetlands, marshes, and tidal creeks. However, as it became the site of New York's refuse, the landscape was rapidly transformed. By 1955, Fresh Kills was the largest landfill in the world. The main dump for all of New York's refuse, it became so large that it was visible from space. During the height of its operations in the 1980s, the Fresh Kills Landfill received almost 30,000 tons of trash a day. As environmental regulations prompted the closure of many of New York’s other landfills in the latter half of the 20th century, Fresh Kills remained open. Eventually, Fresh Kills became the only landfill receiving residential garbage. Fresh Kills conversion to a park began in 1996 when a state law ordered that by Fresh Kills be fully closed by December of 2001. Over the course of five years, its mounds of trash were covered by impermeable soils and made environmentally sound. The last trash barges arrived in March of 2001. However, Fresh Kills would be reopened in a moment of tragedy. Following 9/11, Governor Pataki ordered Fresh Kills to be the processing spot for all the materials from the World Trade Center. Once brought to the landfill, the FBI, Office of Emergency Management, and the New York Police Department sorted through the debris before sealing it in the West Mound. Following a design competition in 2001, a master plan to convert Fresh Kills into a park was approved in 2006. The finished park will be over 2000 acres and will be the biggest park developed in New York in over a century.