Lemon Creek, Staten Island - Definition and Overview

Lemon Creek is a stream located on the South Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, the largest city in the United States. It is one of the few remaining ground-level creeks in New York City.

The mouth of the creek is located just off the corner of Bayview Avenue and Johnston Terrace, where it empties into Raritan Bay. Shortly upstream from this, a branch of the creek veers to the north and connects with Wolfe's Pond, which is located within a city park of the same name. Further inland, Lemon Creek splits into two major branches near the intersection of Drumgoole Road West and Maguire Avenue. One of them heads northward, coming to a stop near the corner of Edgegrove and Marcy Avenues, while the other, larger one continues generally westward until a point near the intersection of Woodrow Road and Rossville Avenue, whereupon it descends into an underground conduit leading to the Arthur Kill.

Throughout its above-ground length, Lemon Creek is generally regarded as the boundary between the South Shore neighborhoods of Prince's Bay and Pleasant Plains.

Lemon Creek is both widest and deepest east of the Staten Island Railway tracks, where bridges have been built allowing automobiles and pedestrians to cross. During the heyday of agriculture on Staten Island, local farmers often drew water from it. More recently, however, some neighborhood residents — and outsiders — have dumped household trash into its waters, and the creek's appearance has suffered as a result.