Collect Pond

Collect Pond was used as a terms of boundary for night watch duties in 1731 under John Montgomerie's charter during the British rule in New York City. The pond was home to a copious amount of fish, and in 1734 legislation was passed preventing the use of nets in the pond. 

At the turn of the 19th century, though, even the tea water pump wells were becoming polluted, especially those closest to Collect Pond, now a stinking cesspool polluted by industry.The contaminated wastewater of the businesses surrounding the pond flowed back into the pond, creating a severe pollution problem and environmental health hazard. Pierre Charles L'Enfant proposed cleaning the pond and making it a centerpiece of a recreational park, around which the residential areas of the city could grow. His proposal was rejected, and it was decided to drain and fill in the pond. This was accomplished with soil partially obtained from leveling the nearby hills of Bayard's Mount and Kalck Hoek, and by digging a canal to the north to encourage the water to drain into the river. The landfill was completed in 1811, and middle class homes were soon built on the reclaimed land.The landfill was poorly engineered. The buried vegetation began to release methane gas (a byproduct of decomposition) and the area, still in a natural depression, lacked adequate storm sewers. As a result, the ground gradually subsided. Houses shifted on their foundations, the unpaved streets were often buried in a foot of mud and mixed with human and animal excrement, and mosquitoes bred in the stagnant pools created by the poor drainage.

The New York City Board of Estimate transferred the former site of Collect Pond to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for conversion into a park. Originally named "Civil Court Park" because of its proximity to the surrounding courthouses, it was renamed "Collect Pond Park" under Commissioner Henry J. Stern to represent the location's history.

In 2006, the city received funding for a renovation of Collect Pond Park, using federal-relief funds distributed after the September 11 attacks. The park was closed for a total reconstruction in 2011. The granite foundation of The Tombs was uncovered in 2012, leading to a partial stop-work order pending archaeological investigation. The rebuilt park reopened in May 2014, with a pool evocative of the former Collect Pond. The project had cost $4.6 million. Although the park was popular among residents and visitors, the pool had to be drained and repaired within months of the park's reopening; it was refilled in 2015.