[2] The park is envisioned as a regional destination that integrates open grasslands, waterways and engineered structures into a cohesive and dynamic unit for social, cultural and physical activity, learning and play.

The initial plan was to raise the elevation of the land by filling for three years and then to redevelop it as a multi-use area with residential, recreational, and industrial components.

[5] Under strong community pressure and with support of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the landfill site was closed on March 22, 2001, but it was reopened after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

A final count of 4,257 human remains were recovered, and more than 1,600 personal effects; the City's Chief Medical Examiner retains custody of all still-unidentified materials at a facility within the National 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan.

In 2003, James Corner Field Operations was selected as the winner of the competition and was hired to prepare a draft master plan to guide long-term development of the park.

The Land Art Generator Initiative used Freshkills Park as the focus of its "LAGI 2012" competition, to design a large-scale artwork that would feed the city's electrical grid.

Although construction of the winning design was not guaranteed, the initiative brought international attention to the aesthetic potential of renewable energy infrastructure.

[13] The Plan was developed with input gathered in meetings and workshops between the project team and Staten Islanders, nonprofit groups, and government officials.

Goals emerging from the outreach efforts included: roads to ease traffic congestion surrounding the Freshkills Park site; active recreational uses such as kayaking and sports fields; and projects generating and using renewable sources of energy.

The five areas envisioned in the draft plan are described below: Capital projects entail a complex and lengthy design and permitting process, involving both City and State agencies, to ensure that all landfill infrastructure as well as the developing ecological resources are adequately protected.

Those projects include: In March 2012, NYC released a Request for Proposals for the construction of solar and/or wind energy facilities at Freshkills Park.

On bi-annual "Discovery Days" in the spring and fall, visitors have the opportunity to kayak, bike, hike, and fly kites in a closed section of the park.