In April of 1926 the mega-developer Commonwealth Associates, Inc. announced the latest of their Grand Plans for Staten Island. One can only wonder what the Island would look like today…
In the 1860's, John J. Crooke, businessman and naturalist bought the peninsula that now bears his name. He lived in a log cabin and took photographs of the beautiful landscapes of nature and collected plant and animal specimens. By 1916 erosion took its toll on the narrow spit of land that lead from Staten Island proper to the Point, that it became an island to itself -- the only way off besides a boat, was to wait until low tide when one could once again walk across through the muck. But what a perfectly isolated spot! Soon, a thriving bungalow community took hold of the island, and in the spring and summer, the shores of the island were littered with the rowboats of its seasonal inhabitants. It must have been something to see.
The following is a newspaper accounting of the plans for Crooke’s Island:
Crook’s Island, which makes possible
the Great Kills Bay on the
south shore of Staten Island, is going
to be converted to an amusement resort
for families. D. L. Leeger, vice president,and Jacob Malven, treasurer
of the Commonwealth Associates,
Inc., which-recently purchased the
island, along with several hundred
acres of mainland, for development
into a residential colony, made this
announcement yesterday. The Island,
which residents of the Great Kills
district have anticipated for many
years, would be taken by the city
for a marine park, is to be preserved
for that purpose, but the main right
to its use will be reserved for the
builders of homes in the newly established
Bryan Park and the adjoining
developments of the Commonwealth
Associates, known as Coolidge Park
and Hylan Manor. The Commonwealth
Associates are drafting plans
for the improvement of the island
with a bathing beach, pavilion,
amusement and other devices, which
will make most appeal to families.
Crook’s Island comprises about 28
acres on which there are about 88
bungalows. These were also acquired
with the recent purchase of
the land and Mr. Leeger said it was
the intention to remove them so as
to eventually devote the entire island
to healthful pleasure and recreations.
There will be no charges to residents
of the Commonwealth Associates developments
to use the island and its
facilities, and Messrs. Leeger and
Malven view the project as a “health
bonus” for those who will build homes hereabouts.
What an ambitious plan! But what ultimately happened was that The City stepped in and bought the “Marine Park” that would eventually be known as Great Kills Park for $700,000 (not to mention what it cost to reclaim the underwater property and the dredging of the harbor) around June of 1929. Of course, Fate being what it is always steps in at the most inopportune time, for in October of that year the Stock Market crashed, and the Great Depression began. All plans were on hold — the land became a landfill and it wasn’t until 1949 that the Great Kills Park was finally opened. Crooke’s Point bears little resemblance to the island of the early 1900′s — it was enlarged with landfill and the area between the park and the Point has been so fortified that it will never (well, most likely never) become an island again. In 1973, the U.S. Government took possession of the park as part of the Gateway National Recreation Areaunder the National Parks Service.
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