Spanish Camp, also known as Spanish Colony, was a private cooperative community on the shore of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, one of the

five boroughs 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It existed from the 1920s to the first decade of the 21st century, when it was demolished.

History

Spanish Camp was started in 1923 by immigrants from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, most of whom were

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

s, who organized under the name Spanish Naturopath Association. The property was located facing

lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...

on the southeastern shore of Staten Island, off Poillon Avenue near the neighborhood of Annadale. The group of cottages had its own streets and services, independent of anything having to do with the rest of Staten Island and New York City. A small pond and associated wetlands were included. A small beach faced the bay, adjacent to an ornate picnic area and athletic field.

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known ...

lived for years in one of the cottages. In 2000 the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the founders sold the property for $7.1 million to a developer, John DiScala, against the will of most residents. Residents owned their homes, but the land was the property of the Spanish Naturopath Association, whose members were descendants of the founders. Residents were forced out, but the developer was blocked by various court actions brought by former residents, and by refusal of the City Planning Department to issue permits for construction. The developer had promised to preserve the home Dorothy Day had lived in, and a few sample other areas. However, her former home was leveled by a

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

as the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

was about to declare it a

historic landmark A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

, and the developer then claimed there was no evidence she had ever been near the property. As of 2006 DiScala's firm had declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, and he was trying to sell the otherwise vacant land to other developers.

History

References

Further reading