Great Kills Park has been very important to the residents of Staten Island offering beaches, biking paths, fishing areas, hiking trails, sports fields, walking trails, among other amenities including its many upscale restaurants that provide economic growth to the area. But now, due to high levels of Radium [1] contained in the fill used to help create the park, Great Hills Park has been closed.

High levels of Radium has led to limited access of the park.Congressman [2] Michael E. McMahon [3] (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) has vowed to restore Great Kills Park to what it once was, promising a clean, safe environment for the Staten Island community.

In August 2005, after several investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [4] and the National Park Service (NPS) [5], fences were placed around the contaminated areas to block out public access. From these investigations and tests, an additional five sites were also found to have high levels of Radium. 

Rep. McMahon has urged the EPA to carry on an expedited remediation. According to Staten Island Live [6], Rep. McMahon has worked with the NPS and secured $500,000 from the Department of the Interior [7]  to fund the radiological survey.  NPS, at this time is waiting on the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) [8] and the EPA to finally approve the compass of work needed to hire the consultant engineer.