Gateway National Recreation Area is a 26607 acres (10,767.5 ha) National Recreation Area 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...

. 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 swimming, bird watching, boating, hiking and camping. Ten million people visit Gateway annually.

Gateway was created by the US Congress in 1972 to preserve and protect scarce and/or unique natural, cultural, and recreational resources with relatively convenient access by a high percentage of the nation's population. It is owned by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government and managed by the National Park Service

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...

.

The park comprises eleven park sites in three units:

• Jamaica Bay Unit in Brooklyn and Queens includes much of the shoreline and water below the Shore Parkway beginning at Plum Beach and ending at Kennedy International Airport, along with several dozen islands in Jamaica Bay
  Jamaica Bay
  Jamaica 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...
  
  , a tidal estuary. It also includes most of the western part of the Rockaway peninsula which separates Jamaica Bay from the Atlantic Ocean
  Atlantic Ocean
  The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
  
  . Among the sites in this unit are:
  
  • Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
    Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
    Jamaica 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....
    
     is a prime location for viewing birds and bird migrations, diamondback turtle egg-laying and horseshoe crab
    Horseshoe crab
    The Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is a marine chelicerate arthropod. Despite its name, it is more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs. Horseshoe crabs are most commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the northern Atlantic coast of North America...
    
     mating and egg laying. Its 9155 acres (3,704.9 ha) are mostly open water, but includes upland shoreline and islands with salt marsh, dunes, brackish ponds, woodland, and fields. It is the only "wildlife refuge" in the National Park System. Originally created and managed by New York City as a "wildlife refuge", the term was retained by Gateway when the site was transferred. All other federally-managed areas titled "wildlife refuge" are managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service under their own specific criteria and standards.
  • Floyd Bennett Field
    Floyd Bennett Field
    Floyd 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...
    
    , a decommissioned airfield with a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places
    National Register of Historic Places
    The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
    
    , also hosts the Historic Aircraft Restoration Project (H.A.R.P.) in Hangar B where volunteers are working to preserve the park's collection of historic aircraft. Hangar B is open to the public at selected times during the week. Exhibits and programs on the airfield's history are available in the former control tower and terminal, since converted into the Ryan Visitor Center, named for William Fitts Ryan, (the congressman who championed Gateway's creation). The former airfield also accommodates public camping
    Camping
    Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
    
    , with 46 campsites. Floyd Bennett Field campground, however, is classified as primitive - with only portable toilet
    Portable toilet
    Portable toilet are simple portable enclosures containing a chemical toilet which are typically used as a temporary toilet for construction sites and large gatherings and events. Most of the portable toilets have black open-front-U-shaped toilet seat with cover...
    
    s, and no electricity provided. Still, it is the only public campground maintained by the National Park Service that is within the limits
    City limits
    The terms city limits and city boundary refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limits is sometimes called the city proper. The terms town limits/boundary and village limits/boundary mean the same as city limits/boundary, but apply to towns and villages...
    
     of an American city, and the only legal campground in New York City. The grasslands of Floyd Bennett Field are a good place for viewing falcon
    Falcon
    A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
    
    s and kestrels. Floyd Bennett Field also includes a concession
    Concession (contract)
    A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
    
     housing recreational facilities including a sports arena and ice skating rinks in adaptively re-used
    Adaptive reuse
    Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
    
     hangars. Within this unit, but still nearby, are Dead Horse Bay
    Dead Horse Bay
    Dead Horse Bay is a small water body off Barren Island between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
    
    , which includes a marina concession, and a golf driving range
    Driving range
    A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...
    
     concession adjacent. Bergen Beach on the north shore of Jamaica Bay (not to be confused with the bordering neighborhood of the same name) is also nearby and within the unit's boundary, supporting a riding academy
    Riding academy
    A riding academy or riding center is a school for instruction in equestrianism, or for hiring of horses for pleasure riding.At the time of the Napoleonic Wars large buildings were constructed for them, like Moscow Manege, Mikhailovsky and Konnogvardeisky maneges in St Petersburg....
    
     concession (horses).
  • Canarsie Pier is the latest in a series of recreational piers near this location, and remains popular as a picnic area and fishing spot on the north shore of the bay.
  • Fort Tilden
    Fort Tilden
    Fort 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...
    
    , between Jacob Riis Park and Breezy Point on the Rockaway peninsula, has some of the city's most pristine and secluded ocean beaches, a successional
    Ecological succession
    Ecological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
    
     maritime forest
    Maritime forest
    A maritime forest is an ocean coastal wooded habitat found on higher ground than dune areas within range of salt spray. They can be found along the Atlantic coast of the United States...
    
    , a coastal dune system, and a freshwater pond. Between 1917 and 1974, Fort Tilden served as part of the harbor's system of defenses, and once housed Nike antiaircraft missiles. Today an observatory deck on one of the old batteries offers spectacular views of Jamaica Bay, 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,...
    
     and the Manhattan skyline. Fort Tilden is one of the best places on New York Harbor to observe hawks during the fall migration.
  • Breezy Point Tip
    Breezy Point, Queens
    Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay on the landward side, and the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood is governed by Queens Community Board 14...
    
     occupies the westernmost part of the Rockaway peninsula, forming one side of the outer "gateway" to New York Harbor. Its 200 acres (80.9 ha) contain oceanfront beach, bay shoreline, dunes, marshes and coastal grasslands. Breezy Point Tip is a nesting area for the threatened piping plover
    Piping Plover
    The Piping Plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck...
    
    .
  • Jacob Riis Park
    Jacob Riis Park
    Jacob 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,...
    
     is an ocean beach with a boardwalk and historic bathhouse with art deco
    Art Deco
    Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
    
     elements. It was built by powerful New York planner and administrator Robert Moses
    Robert Moses
    Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
    
    , and was named after journalist, photographer and reformer Jacob Riis
    Jacob Riis
    Jacob August Riis was a Danish American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City; those impoverished New Yorkers were the subject of most of his prolific...
    
    .

• Staten Island Unit is located on the southeastern shore of Staten Island within Lower New York Bay
  Lower New York Bay
  Lower New York Bay is that section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long...
  
  . It includes Hoffman
  Hoffman Island
  Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south....
  
   and Swinburne Island
  Swinburne Island
  Swinburne Island is the smaller of two artificial islands located in the Lower New York Bay east of South Beach, Staten Island.-History:The island was created in 1860. Along with Hoffman Island, it was used to quarantine immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century who were found to be...
  
  s, both off-limits to visitation and managed primarily for the benefit of avian species. The unit also includes the following three sites:
  • Fort Wadsworth
    Fort Wadsworth
    Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
    
     is a historic collection of masonry fortifications on the site of much earlier fortifications at The Narrows
    The Narrows
    The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean...
    
     under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
    Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
    The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
    
    .
  • Miller Field is a historic former airfield south of New Dorp with picnic areas, open areas and sports fields.
  • Great Kills Park
    Great Kills Park
    Great Kills Park in Great Kills, Staten Island is a part of the Staten Island unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the National Park System it covers an area of approximately of salt marsh, beach and woodlands stretching along two miles of Staten Island's south shore.Great Kills...
    
    ; includes a marina where visitors can go boating, a beach open to the lower harbor
    Lower New York Bay
    Lower New York Bay is that section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long...
    
     with lifeguards during the summer, and nature trails. It also serves as a nesting site for osprey
    Osprey
    The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
    
    .

• Sandy Hook Unit is in Monmouth County
  Monmouth County, New Jersey
  Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
  
   in northern New Jersey. The barrier peninsula
  Barrier island
  Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
  
   forms the other side of the "gateway" to New York Harbor, and includes two park sites:
  • Fort Hancock
    Fort Hancock, New Jersey
    Fort 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...
    
     served as part of the harbor's coastal defense system from 1895 until 1974 and contains 100 historic buildings and fortifications.
  • Sandy Hook contains seven beaches, including Gunnison Beach, a "nude beach
    Nude beach
    A nude beach is a beach where users are legally at liberty to be nude. Sometimes the terms clothing-optional beach or free beach are used. Nude bathing is one of the most common forms of nudity in public. As beaches are usually on public lands, any member of the public is entitled to use the...
    
    " by custom, as well as salt marshes and a maritime holly forest. Ferries from Manhattan are available in season. Fishing and using hand-launched vessels are popular here.

Law enforcement in Gateway is the responsibility of the United States Park Police

United States Park Police

The United States Park Police is one of the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. It functions as a full service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Service areas primarily located in the Washington, D.C., San...

 in the New York units, and commissioned park ranger

Park ranger

A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...

s in the New Jersey unit.

External links

• Gateway National Recreation Area (National Park Service)
• Gateway National Recreation Area (National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy)
• Gateway National Recreation Area (National Park Service partner)
• Friends of Gunnison official website