The Freshkills Park Alliance is the not-for-profit partner with the City of New York in its work to develop Freshkills Park. The Alliance helps ensure the Park’s evolution and continuing operation by raising necessary financial resources, promoting environmental research and ecological restoration, engaging advocates and volunteers, and sponsoring a broad range of recreational, cultural and educational programs for the public. The Freshkills Park Alliance supports the transformation of the Fresh Kills Landfill into an extraordinary 2,200 acre urban park that will be a model for sustainable waterfront land reclamation, a source of pride for Staten Island and New York City and a gift of open space for generations to come. The City hopes to capitalize on this available undeveloped land by collaborating on research plots and permitting access that is restricted to scientists, technicians and students. Initial projects are already underway with the United States Forest Service and CUNY’s College of Staten Island (CSI) and Hunter College, among others. The Department of Parks & Recreation continues to seek partners in academia, museums, government and the private sector in the interest of refining and targeting research questions toward the advancement of study and the pursuit of funding opportunities.