Marine Park

Marine Park is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, that lies between Mill Basin and Gerritsen Beach. As the name implies, the neighborhood is situated around the park, which is also called Marine Park. The neighborhood is situated around the westernmost inlet of Jamaica Bay. During the last 5,000 years a strip of sands was deposited by ocean currents. These beach strips form a surf-barrier and allow saltmarshes to "...grow in the calm water on their protected bay side..." A typical Salt Marsh, one of many in Marine Park. Enlarge A typical Salt Marsh, one of many in Marine Park. "...Gerritsen Creek was a freshwater stream that once extended about twice as far inland as it does today. Around 1920 the creek north of Avenue U was converted into an underground storm drain. Yet it continues to supply the salt marsh with fresh water, which helps the marsh support a wide range of organisms. ..." [1] Native Americans living in the nearby Keshawchqueten village favored the creek for hunting and fishing. Food preparation pits dating from, 800 to 1400 A.D. and were revealed by archaeological excavations in Marine Park. The pits contained deer and turtle bones, oyster shells, and sturgeon scales. The area was originally a Dutch settlement which had the first tidal mill in North America. Dutch settlers found the salt marshes and coastal plainland of southern Brooklyn similar to Holland's landscape. Their food comprised farm-produced livestock, game, and harvests of oysters and clams, which were easily obtainable in this natural setting. Years passed, and city plans were elaborated to make a port out of Jamaica Bay. A Real estate boom was anticipated, and land was bought by private owners. "...Fearing that the relatively pristine marshland around Gerritsen Creek would be destroyed, Frederick B. Pratt and Alfred T. White offered the city 150 acres in the area for use as a park in 1917. After a seven-year delay the City accepted the offer. The prospect of a new park inspired developers to erect new homes in the area and, in the year 1926, form the organization, Marine Park Civic Association, although park improvements were slow to follow. Fill deposited in the marshlands in the 1930s and now land purchases increased the park's area to 1822 acres by 1937. That year the Board of Aldermen named the site Brooklyn Marine Park..."[1] In 1939, over 789 acres of land was donated to New York City, and Marine Park (the park itself) was created. Many of the houses in the neighborhood were also built around the same time. These houses are referred as Marine Park Neighborhood. A couple of additional land transactions took place. For example, 1,024 acres of park were transferred to the National Park Service, and now it is Saltmarsh Nature Center.