The South Beach–Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk, alternately referred to as the FDR Boardwalk or the South Beach Boardwalk, is a boardwalk facing the Lower New York Bay on the East Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. The boardwalk is the main feature of a public park that stretches from Fort Wadsworth and the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge to Miller Field, both part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The park also contains numerous recreational facilities, including a skate park. Originally, the Staten Island shorefront was occupied by multiple amusement parks, which had closed by the 1930s. Construction on the boardwalk started in 1935 and was complete by 1937. Amusements continued to occupy the boardwalk until the late 1950s, when water pollution and other changes started to repel potential visitors. The boardwalk was restored under a multi-million dollar project in the late 1990s. However, it is still relatively lightly used: in 2017, South Beach and Boardwalk saw 334,000 visitors, about 5% of the visitor count at Coney Island.
Description The South Beach–Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk stretches 2.5 miles (4.0 km) between Fort Wadsworth to the north and Miller Field to the south. According to the second edition of The Encyclopedia of New York City, published in 2010, the South Beach Boardwalk is the fourth-longest boardwalk in the world. From north to south, it runs through the neighborhoods of Arrochar, South Beach, and Midland Beach. When built it was 40 feet (12 m) wide for its length, half that of the 80-foot-wide (24 m) Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island, located across the Lower New York Bay in Brooklyn. The FDR Boardwalk was made with concrete and timber and contains several pavilions, restrooms, and "comfort stations" along its length. A 200-foot-wide (61 m) boulevard, now known as Father Capodanno Boulevard, was built on the landward side of the boardwalk. A "protected" bicycle lane, segregated from other traffic, stretches the length of the boardwalk. The South Beach–Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk is very lightly used compared to other beaches in New York City. In 2017, South Beach and Boardwalk saw 334,000 visitors, compared to 2 million at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, 5 million at Rockaway Beach in Queens, and 6.7 million at Coney Island.
Recreational areas The South Beach–Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk is composed of two main beaches: South Beach to the north of Sea View Avenue and Midland Beach to the south. The beaches contain facilities for baseball, handball, shuffleboard, bocce, checkers, volleyball, and roller hockey, as well as the Ben Soto Skate Park and the Ocean Breeze Fishing Pier. The boardwalk contains eight baseball fields along its length: five adjacent to Midland Beach and three adjacent to South Beach. Two of the baseball fields in Midland Beach are also shared with a rugby pitch. There is also a basketball court near the south end of the boardwalk, at Greeley Avenue. The Detective Russel Timoshenko Soccer Field, named after a police officer killed in 2007, is located further north on the beach at Slater Boulevard. The northern end contains three bocce boards near Drury Avenue and two volleyball courts near Doty Avenue. Three children's playgrounds exist along the route of the boardwalk. From north to south, they are Playland at Sand Lane; Midland Playground at Graham Avenue; and Midland Beach Playground at Greeley Avenue.
Statues and monuments Fountain of the Dolphins is a statue at South Beach by sculptor Steven Dickey. It was donated in 1998 by the Staten Island borough president and consists of six bronze depictions of dolphins, attached to poles with multicolored water jets. The Capodanno Memorial was named after Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a local resident who was a chaplain in the United States Navy and was killed in 1967 during the Vietnam War. A granite monument on the boardwalk was dedicated to him in 1976, and Seaside Boulevard was renamed after Capodanno the same year. Located at Sand Lane and Fr. Capodanno Boulevard, the memorial consists of a bronze and steel tablet recessed in a granite stele. The Midland Beach War Memorial is located near Fr. Capodanno Boulevard and Midland Avenue. It is composed of a three-paneled upright slab of Barre granite. An eagle figure is inscribed atop the pedestal.
Ben Soto Skate Park
The Ben Soto Skate Park is a skateboarding and BMX biking park located at the Midland Beach Playground. The skate park is composed of concrete and metal. It was opened in 2005 and named in honor of a local Marine who died four years prior. By 2010, the skate park had deteriorated and the soon-to-be U.S. Representative for Staten Island, Michael Grimm, had promised to fix it. Since being renovated in 2011, the skate park has been criticized by local skateboarders and bikers who state that it lacks a variety of traditional skatepark features such as ramps.
History
Predecessors
Staten Island's East Shore was originally settled by the Dutch, who created the modern-day neighborhoods of Midland Beach and South Beach. Though summer homes were built along the beach in the mid-18th century, these areas remained rural until the later portion of the century. By 1882, businessmen realized that the area could be developed as a resort, and amusements such as theaters, hotels, bathing pavilions, and casinos were added along the shore. In particular, two amusement parks were developed on the site of the modern-day boardwalk: Happyland Amusement Park and Midland Beach. In 1884, opened the South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway, which in turn led to the Staten Island Ferry at St. George Terminal. As a result of its easy accessibility from Brooklyn and Manhattan, the resorts evolved into amusement places similar to Coney Island. The sites of the amusement areas are now occupied by the South Beach–Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk. By the mid-1880s, South Beach's amusement area consisted of a 1,700-foot (520 m) boardwalk, a beach, and numerous rides. After much of the area was destroyed by a fire in September 1896, the 15-acre (6.1 ha) Happyland Amusement Park, an enclosed park with numerous attractions and landscape features, opened on June 30, 1906. Among the park's attractions were a beachfront of 1,000 feet (300 m), a 1,500-foot (460 m) pier, a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) boardwalk, a system of over 10,000 lights, and numerous attractions and roller coasters.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
