Father Macris Park (Staten Island)

This park in the Graniteville section of Staten Island is named for Reverend Spyridon Macris (1932-1989), late pastor of Holy Trinity-Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Bulls Head. It is the first park in New York City to bear the name of a Greek Orthodox priest. Council Member John Fusco introduced the bill to name the park for Father Macris; it was signed into law in 1993. In May 1994 church members, elected officials, Parks administration, and Father Macris’s wife Anne participated in the dedication of the park, which is located on a large plot of land bounded by the Staten Island Expressway, Fahy Avenue, and Lamberts Lane.

A native of Brooklyn, Father Macris graduated from P.S. 24 and Boys High School. In 1957 he received a bachelor of arts degree in theology from the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts. He continued his studies at the University of Athens in Greece, the General Episcopal Theological Seminary in New York City, and St. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Seminary in Crestwood, New York. Father Macris was ordained a deacon on June 10, 1961 and a priest on Pentecost Sunday, June 18, 1961. His Holiness, Patriarch Dimitrios I, bestowed upon him the title of Protopresvyteros of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on April 15, 1984. Father Macris was a member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Spiritual Court, the Greek Orthodox Presbyters Syndesmos of New York and the Staten Island Clergy Association. He was also appointed as a member of the Staten Island Higher Educational Committee.

Father Macris served the Greek Orthodox community as pastor of the Holy Trinity-Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of Staten Island for twenty-four years, from 1965 to 1989. During his years of service with Holy Trinity, he helped to increase membership from 185 to 600 families. Father Macris was instrumental in the construction of the Holy Trinity Church, which was opened on April 10, 1970, and he was also responsible for its Byzantine iconography. Father Macris died on September 25, 1989.

The park site was acquired in proceedings for the creation of the Clove Lakes (now Staten Island) Expressway in 1958. It was planted with grass but largely undeveloped until 1998. Borough President Molinari funded the $735,000 reconstruction, which was completed in 1999. The project included the design and construction of a new softball and soccer field and bleachers for active recreation. Other features include new security fencing, flagpole, drinking fountain, walkways, grading, drainage, and planting. The centerpiece of the park is an ornamental fountain decorated with dolphins, sea creatures who frolic in the waters around both Staten Island and Greece.