Schmul Park

What was here before?

In 1938, a farm on the eastern edge of this property was owned by local tavern owner Louis and Hermine Schmul. They sold the parcel to the City for $1,500. The land was designated to be developed into a park, intended as a gift for the neighborhood’s children.

How did this site become a playground?

The playground initially had play equipment, basketball courts, handball courts and a baseball field; however, the opening in 1948 of the Fresh Kills landfill discouraged further development of western Staten Island, including its parks. For nearly five decades, the manmade hills comprised of the City’s trash loomed over Schmul Park until the landfill’s closing in 2001. The reconstruction of the former landfill into the 2,200-acre Freshkills Park renewed the City’s focus on Schmul Park, which became the Travis neighborhood’s gateway into this innovative public green space. 

The development of Freshkills Park pairs safe and effective landfill closure operations with state-of-the-art land reclamation techniques, alternative energy resources and ecological demonstration projects. The plan seeks to ensure that the park, the largest on Staten Island, will support richly diverse habitats for wildlife, birds and plant communities, as well as provide extraordinary natural settings for recreation--sports and programs that are unusual in the city, including horseback riding, mountain biking, nature trails and large-scale public art and cultural programming.

n 2012 NYC Parks installed new, colorful play equipment, spray showers, swings, sand box, handball and basketball courts, and lawn for passive recreation. The renovation also added native plants, a public restroom, and lit pathways to the softball field and future North Park in Freskhills. The brightly colored playground includes updated safety surfaces, spray shower, swings, sand box, and new play equipment. The park also includes two new handball courts, basketball courts, an open lawn for lounging and sunning, native plantings, a comfort station, and a lighted pathway that leads to the softball field and future North Park of Freshkills.

In 1938, a bronze memorial tablet was installed on a boulder inside the park by their children, Heiman and Rosa Schmul, to honor their parents, Louis and Hermine Schmul, for their contributions to the community.