National Parks of New York Harbor
Encyclopedia
National Parks of New York Harbor is the name of an office of the National Park Service
that coordinates administration of ten NPS sites that include 23 unique destinations located in the Port of New York and New Jersey
. National Parks of New York Harbor was formed in 2003 and administers properties ranging from the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York Harbor
to Gateway National Recreation Area
in several locations and St. Paul's Church
in Mount Vernon, New York
. Despite its name, technically the office does not oversee any national park
s, but rather national monuments
, national memorials
, national historic sites, and a large national recreation area
. Properties overseen by the office make up 27000 acres (109.3 km²) and attract more than 12 million visitors each year. They are served by a visitor's center at Federal Hall
.
, one of the first urban parks when it was created, rather than the acquisition of parkland. Maria Burks, the first Commissioner, was charged with increasing awareness of park units other than the Statue of Liberty
and Ellis Island
, and saw the solution to this problem as increasing the number of ferries
that connect and serve the properties. As a result, when the ferry contract for the Statue of Liberty was up for bid, a discussion occurred about asking interested parties to include increased harbor service as part of their packages, but this request did not receive much focus in the end.
Part of Federal Hall
was repurposed as a new visitors' center in late 2006 to meet the needs of the organization's diverse properties and the visitors thereto and Federal Hall has been used as a forum for visitor input into National Park Service programming.
New York Harbor
Manhattan
and an affiliate, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Jamaica Bay
Sandy Hook
is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
with offices on Wall Street
in New York that works in partnership with the National Parks of New York Harbor. Its 2006 revenues (mostly donations) were $1.255 million.
Among its programs are a tour of the forts that comprise the harbor properties and efforts to deepen the connections between Gateway and the other properties in the Harbor.
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
that coordinates administration of ten NPS sites that include 23 unique destinations located in the Port of New York and New Jersey
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...
. National Parks of New York Harbor was formed in 2003 and administers properties ranging from the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
to Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...
in several locations and St. Paul's Church
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Mount Vernon, New York, just north of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The site was authorized in 1978 to protect Saint Paul's Church from increasing industrialization of the surrounding area...
in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
. Despite its name, technically the office does not oversee any national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, but rather national monuments
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
, national memorials
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
, national historic sites, and a large national recreation area
National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area is a designation for a protected area in the United States, often centered on large reservoirs and emphasizing water-based recreation for a large number of people. The first National Recreation Area was the Boulder Dam Recreation Area...
. Properties overseen by the office make up 27000 acres (109.3 km²) and attract more than 12 million visitors each year. They are served by a visitor's center at Federal Hall
Federal Hall
Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
.
History
The National Parks of New York Harbor umbrella was created in September 2003 as a means of drawing more visitors to the National Park Service properties in the New York City region. The organizers' primary concern was the under-visitation of the parks that comprise the Gateway National Recreation AreaGateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...
, one of the first urban parks when it was created, rather than the acquisition of parkland. Maria Burks, the first Commissioner, was charged with increasing awareness of park units other than the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
, and saw the solution to this problem as increasing the number of ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
that connect and serve the properties. As a result, when the ferry contract for the Statue of Liberty was up for bid, a discussion occurred about asking interested parties to include increased harbor service as part of their packages, but this request did not receive much focus in the end.
Part of Federal Hall
Federal Hall
Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
was repurposed as a new visitors' center in late 2006 to meet the needs of the organization's diverse properties and the visitors thereto and Federal Hall has been used as a forum for visitor input into National Park Service programming.
New York HarborNew York HarborNew York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
- Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
- Ellis IslandEllis IslandEllis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
- Liberty IslandLiberty IslandLiberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
- Governors IslandGovernors IslandGovernors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
- Federal HallFederal HallFederal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
- Castle ClintonCastle ClintonCastle Clinton or Fort Clinton, once known as Castle Garden, is a circular sandstone fort now located in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York City, in the United States. It is perhaps best remembered as America's first immigration station , where more than 8 million...
- Hamilton Grange
- Grant's TombGrant's TombGeneral Grant National Memorial , better known as Grant's Tomb, is a mausoleum containing the bodies of Ulysses S. Grant , American Civil War General and 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Dent Grant...
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic SiteTheodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic SiteTheodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site is a recreated brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue South, in Manhattan, New York City....
- African Burial Ground National MonumentAfrican Burial Ground National MonumentAfrican Burial Ground National Monument at Duane Street and African Burial Ground Way in Lower Manhattan preserves a site containing the remains of more than 400 Africans buried during the 17th and 18th centuries. Historians estimate there may have been 15,000-20,000 burials there...
and an affiliate, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Jamaica BayJamaica BayJamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
- Canarsie Pier
- Floyd Bennett FieldFloyd Bennett FieldFloyd Bennett Field is New York City's first municipal airport. While no longer used as an operational commercial, military or general aviation airfield, the New York Police Department still flies its helicopters from its heliport base there...
- Jamaica Bay Wildlife RefugeJamaica Bay Wildlife RefugeJamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in New York City that is managed by the National Park Service as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area....
- Jacob Riis ParkJacob Riis ParkJacob Riis Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is managed by the National Park Service . It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, toward the southwestern end the Rockaway Peninsula,...
/Fort TildenFort TildenFort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens and part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is located on the Rockaway Peninsula between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point to the west...
Sandy HookSandy HookSandy Hook is a barrier spit along the Atlantic coast of New JerseySandy Hook may also refer to:-Places:United States* Sandy Hook , a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut* Sandy Hook, Kentucky, a city in Elliott County...
- Fort HancockFort Hancock, New JerseyFort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook, located in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. This coastal artillery base played an important part in the defense of New York Harbor and played a role in the...
- Sandy Hook LighthouseSandy Hook Lighthouse__notoc__The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro...
- Gunnison Beach
Conservancy
The National Parks of New York Harbor ConservancyNational Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy
The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy is a 5013 non-profit organization with offices on Wall Street in New York that works in partnership with the National Parks of New York Harbor...
is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
with offices on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
in New York that works in partnership with the National Parks of New York Harbor. Its 2006 revenues (mostly donations) were $1.255 million.
Among its programs are a tour of the forts that comprise the harbor properties and efforts to deepen the connections between Gateway and the other properties in the Harbor.