Arthur Von Briesen Park

By chance while driving to the St. George section of Staten Island from the Verrazano, I saw a sign (and more importantly, available parking) for a particular «Arthur Von Briesen Park». With the change of the traffic light from red to green, I claimed my spot and we were ready to explore.
And about 30 minutes later, of pleasant walking and fall leaf peeping later, I applaud my impulsive decision to check out the unplanned. Perhaps a spontaneous round the world airfare ticket will be next. (Or not).
While walking these grounds you are a guest on the former estate of one Arthur Von Briesen. Before Staten Island was culturally diversified by the Italian Americans of Brooklyn, there were old stock New Yorkers of German and Dutch extraction living off the land, farming, church going, beer brewing volk.
One such Herr was Von Briesen, who rose to fame as a representative of German immigrants in what would become the Legal Aid Society. Unfortunately for the park’s namesake, dear Mr Von B supported Imperial Germany in the European civilization suicide known as World War I. Add a healthy dose of anti-​German hysteria (Anti-​immigrant hysteria is nothing new in the land that gave us the Know-​Nothing Party) and the hero of story had to resign in disgrace.
There are very few reminders that this property was once an estate. I read online that Master Builder Robert Moses saw to that for he feared the buildings would fall into disrepair so better to level. A few bricks arranged like the frame of a house are all that’s left.
The rolling hills make for terrain variation and you’ll make your way to a scenic vantage point where lower Manhattan is within sight as is the Verrazano Bridge and Fort Wadsworth. Trees abound and I spotted several young northern magnolias that will one day flourish.
Oddly enough I also observed at least 20 port a potties lined up but all were strategically shut and inaccessible. (Unless you wanted to clip the plastic ties around the lock)
For a pleasant stroll, view and slice of history, Arthur Von Briesen’s legacy is well served by this park.

Another great place to hang out on the north shore. The nature is thick and beautiful and there is plenty of place to play, walk, frolic, or whatever you choose to do at parks. It’s nestled in a suburban area which actually gives it more charm.

This park is TINY but it does have a small tree-​shaded parking lot. A hilly, mostly sunlit, manicured lawn dotted with a few pretty trees gives an illusion of being in a larger park. It’s a great place for locals to walk their dogs but that’s about it.

Artie baby. That’s what I used to say when we were still on good terms. That was then. This is now. Barely a nod exchanged. We’ve both grown apart. Artie was the type of person you could trust. And not with simple facts either. Art could hold onto a secret for a while. But what Artie dealt in were lies. Colossal lies. I remember once shooting the breeze with Vonny (that’s what we called him, among other unprintable monikers). I was telling him about my wife. She’s an ex now, but back then I didn’t believe in divorce. My philosophy had always been to power through. That was until Vonny told me about cutting my losses and getting out while I still had some sanity. Over the many hours and many cans of Schaefer Beer, he convinced me to exit the relationship. I still owe him. Thank God I never had kids with her. Would’ve been more a total nightmare. Parting ways wasn’t easy, but it was made eminently easier by Arthur Von Briesen. Our falling out occurred shortly after. I discovered it was Art who was meeting my old lady for frequent nocturnal tete-​a-​tetes. Nonetheless, thanks, old friend, wherever you are.

I’ve been meaning to go for a walk in this park for a while now and tonight I finally did; however, it was not what I expected. It’s small but hilly. It’s a good place to do a couple of laps running or jogging. There’s an okay view of the city and a good one of the Verrazano Bridge. It’s nicely kept, but there are a lot of down branches and trees that are just waiting to be cleaned up. The park seems to be the doggy meeting place for locals. Lots of people walking or just sitting around with their pups. The occasional shout for a runaway or unruly pup to come back and sit, and some barking as the small dogs let their Napoleon complex run wild. I thought this park had a lot more than it turned out to be.

The grounds of this park are nicely kept. It has great views of downtown Manhattan and of the Verrazano bridge.
There is a ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial with views of the financial district, and the same trees that line the world trade center area were planted at this site.
Its a very unassuming park. It’s nice to stroll through if you are in the area. Just remember that there are no restrooms or water fountains.
Apparently, «frequent attempts to add active recreation facilities to this site failed as Parks determined that the site remain the most beautiful passive park in the city.»