Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§460cc Establishment

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER LXXXVII— - GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA › § 460cc

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Gateway National Recreation Area to protect special natural and recreation places for people now and in the future. It includes these parts shown on the map titled "Boundary Map, Gateway National Recreation Area," numbered 951–40017 sheets 1 through 3 and dated May, 1972: the Jamaica Bay Unit (islands, marshes, waters, Floyd Bennett Field, lands between Route 27A and Jamaica Bay, and the bay up to JFK’s shoreline); the Breezy Point Unit; the Sandy Hook Unit; the Staten Island Unit (including Great Kills Park, World War Veterans Park at Miller Field except about 26 acres for public school use, Fort Wadsworth, and nearby waterfront lands); Hoffman and Swinburne Islands; and all submerged lands, islands, and waters within one-fourth of a mile of the mean low water line of those waterfront areas. The map is kept for public viewing at the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. The Secretary of the Interior may make small boundary changes after telling the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in writing and by publishing a revised map or description in the Federal Register.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §460cc

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In order to preserve and protect for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations an area possessing outstanding natural and recreational features, the Gateway National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the “recreation area”) is hereby established.
(a)The recreation area shall comprise the following lands, waters, marshes, and submerged lands in the New York Harbor area generally depicted on the map entitled “Boundary Map, Gateway National Recreation Area,” numbered 951–40017 sheets 1 through 3 and dated May, 1972:
(1)Jamaica Bay Unit—including all islands, marshes, hassocks, submerged lands, and waters in Jamaica Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, the lands generally located between highway route 27A and Jamaica Bay, and the area of Jamaica Bay up to the shoreline of John F. Kennedy International Airport;
(2)Breezy Point Unit—the entire area between the eastern boundary of Jacob Riis Park and the westernmost point of the peninsula;
(3)Sandy Hook Unit—the entire area between Highway 36 Bridge and the northernmost point of the peninsula;
(4)Staten Island Unit—including Great Kills Park, World War Veterans Park at Miller Field (except for approximately 26 acres which are to be made available for public school purposes), Fort Wadsworth, and the waterfront lands located between the streets designated as Cedar Grove Avenue, Seaside Boulevard, and Drury Avenue and the bay from Great Kills to Fort Wadsworth;
(5)Hoffman and Swinburne Islands; and
(6)All submerged lands, islands, and waters within one-fourth of a mile of the mean low water line of any waterfront area included above.
(b)The map referred to in this section shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, District of Columbia. After advising the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate in writing, the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized to make minor revisions of the boundaries of the recreation area when necessary by publication of a revised drawing or other boundary description in the Federal Register.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 106–132 added Pub. L. 92–592, § 3(b)(2). See 1972 Amendment note below. 1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–437 substituted “Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate” for “Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate”. 1972—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 92–592, § 3(b)(2), as added by Pub. L. 106–132, substituted “World War Veterans Park at Miller Field” for “Miller Field”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

DeKorte State Park; Protection and Use of; Study for Establishment as a Unit of the National Park System and Administration as Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area; Report to Congressional Committees; Authorization of Appropriations Pub. L. 96–442, § 3, Oct. 13, 1980, 94 Stat. 1887, directed Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine appropriate measures for protection, interpretation, and public use of natural wetlands and undeveloped uplands of that portion of Hackensack Meadowlands District identified as DeKorte State Park on official zoning maps of that District, with Secretary to consult with and seek advice of, representatives of interested local, State, and other Federal agencies, to determine suitability and feasibility of establishing the area as a unit of national park system, including its administration as a unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, together with alternative measures that could be undertaken to protect and interpret resources of area for public, and not later than two complete fiscal years from Oct. 13, 1980, to transmit a report of the study, including estimated development, operation, and maintenance costs of alternatives identified therein, to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of House of Representatives, together with his recommendations for such further legislation as may be appropriate, and authorized to be appropriated from amounts previously authorized to study lands for possible inclusion in national park system not to exceed $150,000 to carry out provisions of this Act.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 460cc

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73