Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
Blue Heron Pond Park
48 Poillon Avenue, Annadale • 718-390-8000
This 147-acre park is home to the blue heron bird, which the park is named for. The park includes a new visitors center, hiking trails, picnic areas, and much more.
Conference House Park
298 Satterlee Street, 10307 • 718-984-6046
On the southern most tip of Staten Island lies Conference House Park, site of a 1776
peace conference between representatives of the Continental Congress and the
Commander of British Forces during the Revolutionary War.
In 1929, the newly formed Conference House Association was granted control of the
property, thereby saving the Manor House from destruction. Since taking control of the
Manor House and surrounding property, the Conference House Association has restored
and maintained the Manor House for visitors to enjoy.
Today, the Conference House is now part of a public waterfront park that overlooks
Raritan Bay and the New Jersey coast. First built in 1680, it is the only pre-
Revolutionary manor house still surviving in New York City and is both a New York
City and National Landmark.
Lemon Creek Park
A 105-acre park, Lemon Creek Preserve contains the largest and most pristine salt marsh on Staten Island’s south shore. Steep forested slopes rise on either side of the marsh. A freshwater pond, only 100 feet from Raritan Bay, is adjacent to the only purple martin (Progne subis) colony in New York City. These gregarious birds nest in apartment-house-style structures maintained by volunteers.
The red clay bluffs in the park, reaching 85 feet above Prince’s Bay at Mt. Loretto, are part of the harbor hill terminal moraine (a ridge or landform marking the farthest advance of a glacier or ice sheet). A glacier that receded approximately 15,000 years ago created these bluffs, which are the tallest ocean-facing cliffs in New York State.
Lemon Creek Park’s waterfront area provides a spawning ground for many species of fish and shellfish. The parkland is home to swans, mallard ducks and black ducks, and it serves as a resting point for numerous migratory birds and, in early October, monarch butterflies
The park also harbors the mid-19th-century, Greek Revival-style Seguine Mansion, a stately Greek Revival structure built in 1838 by Joseph H. Seguine whose family made its fortune harvesting Raritan Bay oysters.
Wolfe's Pond Park
Wolfe's Pond Park offers opportunities for sunbathing, fishing and hiking
Hylan Blvd. & Cornelia, Huguenot • 718-984-8266
20 developed acres and 170 acres of wooded park land. People come for sunbathing, picnicking, comfort, fresh water fishing all year-round (must have a license - daylight hours only) and salt water fishing from October through May. Rest rooms are available.
Photo by Vinnie Amesse