Those who have stumbled upon the Rock Pilings on the Staten Island shore by the Sharrott Avenue Fishing Pier in Pleasant Plains may immediately think they have gone into some Twilight Zone — fun and bewildering and enchanting at the same time.
It is all an on-going art project by Doug Schwartz, who happens to also be a Zoo Keeper in the Staten Island Zoo who takes care of the groundhog, Staten Island Chuck.
His work has been documented in the book Weird New York, amongst other places such as The Ignorant Traveler. That original living rock art canvas is detailed on The Ignorant Traveler, here: https://ignoranttraveler.com/rocks-on-staten-island/
The Original Location of the Rock Sculptures
Schwartz has been arranging rocks into artistic formations for over a decade. His original project was on the shore just to the south of the Sharrott Avenue Fishing Pier in what is officially Mount Loretto State Park property.
NY State Tells Schwartz to Stop in 2011
In 2011, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) demanded that Schwartz stop building the rock pilings because his movement of rocks could be affecting erosion rates and the location of bluffs.
Schwartz Moved the Project to North Side of Pier
A compromise was met as years later Schwartz continued the project but now just to the north of the pier, where there are no bluffs.
Here is a video showing the living Rock Art canvas on October 16, 2026:
Here are some pictures from October 16, 2026:
Etcetera: Doug Schwartz Poetry
Doug Schwartz had his poetry regularly published in The College Voice newspaper — official student newspaper of the College of Staten Island — in the early 1980’s. Here is some of his poetry from 1981 editions:
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