Built on landfill. Soundview Park in the Bronx. A surprising history awaits us. This 205-acre park. Once intertidal marshland. Transformed by Robert Moses. Under Mayor LaGuardia’s administration. Imagine the scale of that project. Filling wetlands. Creating a park from scratch.
The first 93 acres. Acquired in 1937. More land followed in 1939. Sixty-six acres added. Extending the park’s reach. Towards the water’s edge. The Bronx River Estuary. The East River’s embrace. Rikers Island and LaGuardia Airport. Visible from across the water.
A strange incident marked the park’s early years. In 1942. A mysterious gas. Tarnishing silver. Causing headaches and nausea. Residents feared the landfill. Improperly handled garbage. The culprit? Sulphur dumped. From a Consolidated Edison plant. Nearby stagnant pools. The source of the unsettling air.
Soundview Park remained largely undeveloped. Until the 1950s. Adjacent land served a purpose. A temporary housing project. Nine hundred forty-seven apartments. In Quonset huts. A reminder of a different era. One Quonset hut remains. A silent testament. Near Seward and Croes Avenues.
The park expanded further. Land purchases. In 1952 and 1967. Reaching its current size. A testament to persistent growth and development. Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative. A redesign planned. By landscape architects. Thomas Balsley Associates. A vision of transformation. Neighborhood Gateway park spaces. Passive recreation areas. Enhanced active recreation. Opening the waterfront to visitors. Environmental remediation. Cleaning up the contaminated landfill.
Today Soundview Park thrives. Playgrounds and running tracks. Sports fields and courts. Kayaking and canoeing. A bicycle path meanders. From Bronx River and Lafayette Avenues. To Leland and O’Brien Avenues. A vibrant community hub. A place for recreation and relaxation. A testament to resilience. From landfill to a beloved green space.