Fresh Kills Park

When Fresh Kills was opened, it was labeled as a temporary landfill, yet at its peak, 13,000 tons of garbage was added daily. At that rate, the landfill grew exponentially until it was twelve square miles of household waste. During the 1960s, it was so large that workers navigating the dump had to create new infrastructure to continue getting rid of waste.

By the 1960s, the landfill had become a nightmare, filled with rank odors, feral animals and a rat population that threatened to take over the island. Cleverly, birds were brought in to take care of the rats, and the landfill was deemed a wild bird sanctuary.

In 2009, the “temporary” landfill that had become permanent entered its newest phase of land reclamation a design for a Fresh Kills park was put into motion, and by 2040 it will be finished. The plans will have the size of the park at 2.7 times larger than Central Park.