Staten island boat graveyard8/7/2023 ![]() ![]() Vessels from all decades of the 20th Century lie in a state of decomposition and rust at this scrapyard at Arthur Kill Road and Rossville Avenue. Some of these craft have tales as gripping as the metropolis of Manhattan itself. The junkyard is home to one of the largest collections of historic boats in the United States and has attracted a deluge of maritime historians from across the country. Over 400 ships inhabit the yard, now known as the Don John Iron and Metal Scrap Processing Facility. A change in environmental law mandated that these eco-systems be untouched and the hulks endured. Arthur Witte intentionally stored the vast collection of ships for parts, but the wrecks became a habitat to teeming colonies of underwater fauna. Once described by the New York Times as an accidental marine museum,” the Witte Marine Scrap Yard accumulated far more vessels than it could dismember, and the boats quickly piled up. It is located at about Arthur Kill Road and Rossville Avenue in the formerly dying town of Rossville, which has since been revitalized by acre upon acre of cookie cutter tract housing.įounded in the 1950s by Arthur Witte Jr., the yard sits on a desolate stretch of land at the junction of Arthur Kill Road and Rossville Avenue. "They're going to come anyway.I have been a frequent visitor to what I call The Dead Pool, a bend in the Arthur Kill, the waterway separating the west and south of Staten Island from New Jersey. The dangerous aspect of the journey doesn't stop many intrepid visitors, Conssean said.Īnd while some might not be thrilled with the idea of the city promoting a tourist attraction near their backyard, Conssean said the addition of the site to the British guide doesn't bother him much. Others have suggested kayaking to the spot to get closer to the ships, as the marsh doesn't have the most secure path and the docks nearby are dangerous from years of saltwater corrosion, Conssean said. ![]() "I don't mind people going out there, it just got so crazy," he said. To get some of the best views, however, trekking through Conssean's yard is the easiest way.īut since the number of visitors has risen recently, he has put up signs to ward off people and block access to the paths. George Ferry Terminal, the real journey begins.Ī makeshift path of street signs and wood planks takes visitors from the Sleight Family Graveyard into a muddy, wet marsh to see a portion of the graveyard. After a nearly 13-mile bus ride from the St. Traveling to the site isn't for the faint of heart. "Naturally, this is not a place for casual sightseers, but the location is known as a photographer's dream for the few who dare to trek out there," the city's tourism site reads. The city does recognize that the spot isn't for every visitor, but can be a great location for adventurous photographers. It once even housed a submarine that dated back to World War II, Conssean said. The spot, also known as the Witte Marine scrap yard and currently owned by Donjon Recycling and C & M Metals Recycling, is the only place in the city to dump unused ships. The graveyard, which also contains the battered remains of a former dock, serves as an official dumping ground for disused and decommissioned ferries, tugboats, barges and more that sit in the water until they are dismantled or salvaged, according to the city's tourism website. 1 on the itinerary, but it's on the itinerary." "I've had people from California, from Michigan, a guy from Wisconsin comes back repeatedly," he said. The city already has a listing for the spot on its NYCgo tourism website, something Tony Conssean, 55, who's backyard leads directly to parts of the graveyard, isn't surprised about.Ĭonssean, who grew up in the home and recently moved back to take care of his elderly parents, said on weekends he sees about 15 to 20 people in the morning going to check out the ships. "It may not have the #MaryRose, but NYC does have a rather spooky Boat Graveyard on Staten Island," the city's official U.K. On Thursday the city added the spot, tucked away in a marsh off Arthur Kill Road, to its summer guide for British tourists and promoted the post on Twitter. The city is promoting the place where ships go to die - a marshland holding rusted testaments to the borough's maritime heritage - to visitors from the United Kingdom. ROSSVILLE - A graveyard filled with the rotting hulks of decommissioned boats is drawing British tourists to Staten Island. Crown Heights, Prospect Heights & Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens & Red Hook.
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