Norway Triangle

What was here before?

Native Americans lived in this area of Staten Island before Old Town (an English translation of the Dutch Oude Dorp) was developed in the mid-seventeenth century. The two factions came into conflict regularly, and in 1655 Old Town met its demise when the Peach War left the town in ruins. A Dutch settler shot and killed a Wappinger woman named Tachiniki who had picked a peach from his tree. Her tribe attacked in retaliation, and the settlement was never rebuilt. Instead, the first permanent settlement was established at a site farther south in 1671 and still endures today as New (Niewe) Dorp.

How did this site become a park?

In 1996, Norway Triangle became part of the Greenstreets program, which is a joint project of NYC Parks and the NYC Department of Transportation. Beginning in 1986, this initiative converted paved street properties, such as triangles and malls, into green spaces. Norway Triangle is a grassy space with evergreen shrubs and trees.

What is this triangle named for?

This site is named after the adjacent street. Norway Avenue was laid out in the early part of the 19th century, a time when many Norwegians came to live in the New York area. The largest population concentrations were in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Red Hook and, later, Bay Ridge, but members of the community settled in all parts of the city. Staten Island’s Eger Home, a facility for the elderly, was built by and for the Staten Island Norwegian population