Sandy Ground listed as ‘at-risk’: Working to ensure a treasured piece of NYC history lives on

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — On a discreet plot of land in Rossville, Sandy Ground seems to be quietly disappearing. Once ravaged by fire, oft defaced by vandalism, snatched up by a series of covetous development deals and then almost entirely expunged by hurricanes Sandy and Ida, the bruised historic land that has held such strong cultural significance on Staten Island for close to two centuries has been bandaged over the past few decades — but never fully repaired. And in December, when the property showed up on a national cultural landscape report deemed “threatened and at-risk,” many feared that Sandy Ground had been dealt a fatal blow. But the national history experts who authored that list insist the designation is not a death sentence. Instead, they say, the issuance of this “endangered” status should inspire advocacy, and over time, ultimately save the site.

“There are families who have some really deep roots here, but unfortunately so many residents have aged or passed on. Combine that with the fact that the community has been encroached upon by developers — and quite frankly, you’ll see that Sandy Ground is dying,” noted Yvette Taylor Jordan, a seventh-generation descendant of Sandy Ground whose family still has a homestead on Woodrow Road, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For Jordan, Sandy Ground means legacy. It means home. And despite a recent Staten Island Ferry dedication in its name and other efforts to commemorate the land, she fears that other borough and New York City residents are unaware of its significance.

Considered the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement, Sandy Ground is one of several such locations that once existed in New York City — most others are now entirely eradicated.

Once full of 150 Black-owned homes, each one built and centered around the Rossville African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church (established in 1850, an important stop along the Underground Railroad), the neighborhood has been home to farmers, businessmen, doctors and other influential Staten Island residents. Its name a reference to the sediment-rich soil found in that part of the borough, the area was first cultivated as farmland, its sandy soil a fertile environ for strawberries and asparagus. But it is perhaps most famously associated with its population of oystermen who migrated from Maryland to flee the restrictive segregation laws that were imposed upon the oyster trade there.

‘A WONDERFUL PLACE TO GROW UP’

“We had a very good life in Sandy Ground, it was a wonderful place to grow up,” noted 98-year-old Norma McGhie, who was born and raised there. Her grandfather, one of those Maryland oysterman, was one of the settlement’s founders.

“It was a true community where friends were like family,” McGhie continued. “My grandmother’s house is still there on Woodrow Road, but I don’t think Sandy Ground is the same.”

Recalling her neighbor’s prize-winning dahlias and remembering countless games of hopscotch, hide-and-go-seek and tag, McGhie spoke about moving to a new home built by her father on Clay Pit Road in 1930.

“Our first Sandy Ground home was on Bloomingdale Road, and it had no indoor plumbing,” McGhie recalled. “We moved to Clay Pit Road when I was 6. It felt like moving into a palace. There were so many rooms and a sidewalk where we could play.”

McGhie, who attended PS 3 in Pleasant Plains and graduated from Tottenville High School, said there were picnics and hayrides, and her family took the bus to Coney Island. She was 17 when they relocated to Harlem.

“It was a beautiful childhood,” she said. “And there was a level of pride knowing that my grandfather was among the men who founded this tight-knit community. I think Sandy Ground should go down in history. But there’s simply nobody left.”

In recent years, the historic property has fallen victim to under-recognition and lack of resources. When it showed up on this list of endangered places last month, many were disappointed — but not surprised.

‘NOT GOING ANYWHERE’

“People have been slowly moving out of Sandy Ground for decades — there is only about 10 people still living there now, and the museum is not open because the roof needs to be repaired,” noted Sylvia D’Alessandro, executive director of the Sandy Ground Museum and Historical Society. “The community has been like this for a while though, and the church still draws the members back each week, so I was confused when I saw it listed as endangered. I think it is an integral part of Staten Island history. We’re not going anywhere.”

Issued by the Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy non-profit based in Washington, D.C., the report, titled Landslide 2021: Race and Space, highlighted 13 relatively unknown, but nationally significant cultural landscapes throughout the country associated with African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Peoples.

Launched in 2003, the annual report has highlighted more than 300 significant at-risk parks, gardens, horticultural features, working landscapes and other places that collectively embody the nation’s shared landscape heritage. The foundation stresses this list is not a death sentence. Instead, Landslide designations have often resulted in advocacy that has saved numerous sites. Moreover, once a site is enrolled in the Landslide program, it is monitored by TCLF.

CALL FOR PUBLIC ADVOCACY

“Sites can be at-risk for numerous reasons, ranging from an imminent threat of demolition to an accumulation of factors — storm damage, lack of resources for needed maintenance, vandalism, etc. — which is the case at Sandy Ground,” the foundation said in a statement. “The goal of the program is to make these sites visible and valued, and to engage the public in advocacy.”

Charles Birnbaum, president, CEO and founder of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, said Sandy Ground was selected for this list because he is personally familiar with the borough and Sandy Ground’s unrecognized significance.

“I’m a native New Yorker, and when I was in my 20s I worked as a project manager with a landscape architect that specialized in waterfront parks,” Birnbaum said. “For several years I worked on the North Shore — from Sailor’s Snug Harbor to the Alice Austen House, Fort Wadsworth and beyond — and I really got to know Staten Island. I fell in love with it, actually. But while the borough’s other cultural landmarks are well-recognized, I had to seek out more information on Sandy Ground — its story is not well-known.”

Comparing Sandy Ground to Seneca Village, the 19th century Black Settlement that was razed to make way for the construction of Central Park, Birnbaum said that while the property’s narrative has been neglected, it is not a lost cause.

“It’s interesting to look at the conversations happening around Central Park and Seneca Village,” Birnbaum said. “In Seneca, the story is made visible, and the city brings a lot of attention to that Black settlement. Now contrast that with Sandy Ground. Yes, there is a significant fabric of people who are part of protecting that cultural landscape, but ask a New Yorker outside of Staten Island what Sandy Ground is, and they have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s mind-boggling. We have to put it on the radar. Other cases of cultural erasure have been greater. We have to do more than rely on the handful of families who are still there as kin keepers to tell a story that very few know.”

The descendants of the property still pledge respect to its ghosts, and the faithful return weekly to church services, feeling the land’s “clouds of witnesses” in the air, but there’s an overall sentiment in the borough’s Black community that Sandy Ground is gone.

“This ground is holy ground, and it should be preserved,” said the Rev. Jacqueline Nolton, pastor of the Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church. “It didn’t just evolve, it came from the sacrifices of free slaves with very little resources. But even with that inadequacy, they were able to become prosperous businessmen and homeowners. Sandy Ground should be preserved in the history books. It’s sacred.”

And there is preservation work being done: Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) and Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore) have passed legislation that would allow the Sandy Ground Historical Society to qualify for grants through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), which would help the property secure the financing it needs to begin the rehabilitation of the grounds. Lanza is also pushing to amend the state education law to include Staten Island’s Sandy Ground community in its curriculum.

LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY SUPPORT

The New York Landmarks Conservancy, an integral part of Sandy Ground’s restoration for years, gave the property an emergency grant in the mid 1990s after the Rossville AME Zion Church Cemetery was vandalized. And in 2015, after more than 500 unmarked graves were discovered at that same cemetery, the conservancy issued more grant money and oversaw the surveying of the landscape, culminating in the issuance of a Cultural Landscape Report, which documents the findings and presents recommendations for future maintenance. Most recently, more emergency money was given to put roofs on several cottages that the church owns and to fix a church door that had been vandalized once again.

“Sandy Ground is really a treasure that does not get the attention it deserves,” noted Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. “Part of our hope in doing the study of the cemetery was to highlight this property and let the world know it exists. People should be aware of how important this land is and celebrate it.”

The newest Staten Island Ferry, which arrived in New York City last month and will soon celebrate its commissioning ceremony, bears the Sandy Ground name too — a designation that advocates applaud.

“Anything that makes Sandy Ground real in the minds of New York City residents and reminds them of its history is a wonderful thing,” Breen said.

For Yvette Taylor Jordan, the appellation is wonderful — but not enough.

“The naming of the ferry boat is an impactful move,” she concluded. “But more needs to be done. We, the descendants, are focused on teaching the eighth generation how to sustain the community. We have to leave this legacy to our children’s children. We’re working hard to make sure that Sandy Ground and all of its significance never gets lost.”