STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New York City plans to bring a new comfort station a decade in the making to Staten Island’s Freshkills Park.
A Parks Department webpage dedicated to the project in the park’s southern section doesn’t list an exact completion date, but officials expect procurement to wrap up next month, with a 12-18 month construction timeline to follow.
The webpage lists a cost estimate between $5 million and $10 million. A construction contract notice published July 1 in The City Record listed a value of $5.9 million. The notice lists the contract awardee as Padilla Construction Services based in Westbury, New York.
Plans for the project date to 2016, according to the Parks Department webpage. When finished, the comfort station will mark the latest addition to a park that will be 2,200 acres when fully complete in 2036.
When complete, the former Fresh Kills Landfill will be the city’s second largest park behind the Bronx’s Pelham Bay Park.
The first official closure of the former landfill was in March 2001, but the site reopened for a brief period after 9/11 to help the recovery effort. City officials have been working to transform it into the massive park since 2008.
Due to its size, Freshkills Park is opening in phases with a focus on the park’s outermost areas so people can enjoy the new spaces as soon as possible.
Already opened are four projects that are part of the larger park: Schmul Park in Travis, Owl Hollow Soccer Field in Arden Heights, the New Springville Greenway and North Park Phase I.
The South Park portion where the comfort station will be built has an expected completion date of summer 2028. When complete, the South Park will feature two full-size soccer fields, a picnic area and a wetland boardwalk path, according to the Parks Department.