Last Chance Pond Park

Zoe St., Husson St., Naughton Ave., Seaver Ave.

Staten Island, 10305

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This pond is named for the organization that helped to preserve the site for the Staten Island community, Last Chance Pond and Wilderness Foundation.

This unspoiled wilderness owes its existence to the efforts of Staten Island residents who were determined not to let the last chance for preservation go by. Entirely surrounded by residential streets, the park’s 50 lots were previously undeveloped wetlands in the hands of a variety of owners. Marshy and hard to use, the Last Chance Pond wilderness area survived intact as the neighborhood grew up around it.

Efforts to preserve the pond and wilderness area began in earnest in the mid-1960s. Local residents Louis Caravone, (currently Chair of Community Board 2) and John P. Mouner of the Beachview Manor Citizens Association enlisted the support of a formidable cadre of politicians and environmental groups to aid their efforts. Together, they helped found the Last Chance Pond and Wilderness Foundation.