Six Tenors of Victory Boulevard

Longtime resident of 630 Victory Boulevard.

Why your rent increase is more than you expected. Four-minute listen.

A Silver Lake Park quick history: 1860: Icehouse built to supply Island homes; lasted till around 1911 when refrigeration was introduced. Area known as Fresh Pond or Silver Lake. 1897: Silver Lake hosted the National Skating Amateur Championship races.... 1900: A hotel (and casino) in Silver Lake existed until 1902. Boxing matches were hosted. 1901/2: Land around the lake was purchased by the City and made into a park; designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. 1913: Once a natural waterway, the lake was drained, lined with concrete and connected to the city’s aqueduct (Catskills through Brooklyn to SI as main water supply till 1971). 1917: Redesigned into a 56-acre reservoir. Maintained by Bureau of Water Supply until 1971. 1928/9: Golf course created (built over Marine Cemetery, a resting place for many indigent Irish) 1971: The reservoir’s function was replaced by a new underground reservoir. Like its counterpart in Central Park, the old reservoir was retained as an aesthetic centerpiece of Silver Lake Park. 1988: New administration building was built. 1997: Handball courts were added, along with new benches, fences, plants, guiderails, and equipment for the playground. 2015: "The 56-acre lake was built as a city reservoir in 1917, but hasn’t been used for drinking water since 1971. Today, underground storage tanks next to the lake supply Staten Island’s water. The lake collects the tanks’ overflow, and forms the centerpiece of picturesque Silver Lake Park. (NY Post, 12-20-15) Article links: Hidden Waters Blog 12-21-15 https://hiddenwatersblog.wordpress.com//new-york-post-vis/ Hidden Water Blog 3-17-17 https://hiddenwatersblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/silverdam/ A Leaky Lake and Staten Island Ire (NY Times) 6-28-82 http://www.nytimes.com//a-leaky-lake-and-staten-island-ire Submerged Secrets are Revealed as Silver Lake Dries Up (NY Post) 12-20-15 http://nypost.com//submerged-secrets-are-revealed-as-silv/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_Staten_Island https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/silver-lake-park/ Photo by Glen DiCrocco

Photos by Glen DiCrocco

Silver Lake Park in the fog