Ferry Point Park

Ferry Point Park. 413.8 acres. , With a dramatic vista of the East River and Westchester Creek, this large park is approximately half the size of Central Park. Though Ferry Point Park has grown in area by landfill, the original parcel of 171 acres first came under Parks jurisdiction in 1937. It was purchased by the city from the Roman Catholic House of the Good Shepherd in proceedings for acquiring land for the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. The parcel was called Old Ferry and was located at the confluence of Westchester Creek and the Baxter Creek Inlet (later filled)., The land on which Ferry Point Park was built was part of the Throgmorton Grant of 1642, and was farmed by a series of families through the nineteenth century. In 1850 the land was purchased by shipping magnate Augustus diZerega and the tobacco manufacturer Jacob Lorillard. It was then sold to the Catholic House of the Good Shepherd in 1916., The park was named for the ferries that traveled between the Bronx and Queens, from Westchester Village to Whitestone and from Clason Point to College Point. At least two operators, the Twin City Ferry Company and the City of New York, administered ferries along the latter route from 1910 to 1939. With the construction of bridges and tunnels linking the city's main islands to the mainland, the ferries were put out of operation. When the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge was opened in 1939, ferry service between Clason Point and College Point ferry was discontinued., With many acres to develop and numerous shade-giving European Beech trees outlining the parkland, the site of Ferry Point Park had great potential. In the 1930s New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses planned a beach, bathhouse, and cafeteria complex with a bus terminal and parking field here. Unfortunately, the plan was never implemented. In 1948 two park additions totaling 243 acres were acquired by condemnation. Sanitation filling began in 1952 and continued for the following eighteen years., The most recent improvements to the park, completed in 2015, included an 18-hole golf course designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus. This was the first golf course built within New York City limits in 35 years and includes a practice range, learning center, clubhouse, pro shop, restaurant, and snack bar. Reconstruction of the surrounding park included new ballfields, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, basketball courts, a comfort station and picnic grounds., Ferry Point Park contains one and a half miles of prime waterfront. Bisected by the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and the Hutchinson River Parkway, this Bronx park is easily accessible by car from Manhattan, Queens, and Westchester. Linked by parkways to other major parks, Ferry Point Park is a gateway to the Bronx and its extensive park system.