@forgottenborough: Willowbrook Park in Staten Island. 214 acres. Part of the Staten Island Greenbelt and a place with more history hiding in plain sight than most people realize. Parts of this park exist because of a highway that was never built. In 1939 and 1940 land was condemned for a planned Willowbrook Parkway extension. The highway never happened. The condemned land became part of the park instead. That ghost road now weaves through the neighborhood as a nature trail. The neighborhood itself gets its name from the willow trees that once lined the brooks feeding what became Willowbrook Lake and mentioned in colonial records as early as 1683. The lake was constructed in 1932. The first man-made pond stocked with fish on Staten Island. Urban Park Rangers run catch and release fishing programs here year round. The five acre lake is also a bird sanctuary. And at the heart of the park the Carousel for All Children. 51 hand carved wooden animals including mythical beasts, endangered species and traditional carousel horses. Fully accessible to children and adults of all abilities. #StatenIsland #ForgottenBorough #NYC #StatenIslandNY
