As far back as the French and Indian War in the 1750s, fortifications were built on Willets Point at the tip of Bayside. During the Civil War, the fort was designed to protect New York Harbor from a Confederate sea attack. No longer needed to safeguard the city, the fort retains some of the city's most desirable real estate. Historians want to preserve it as an historic 19th-Century fort. Matinecock descendants want to protect the bones of ancestors they say are buried there.
Developers covet the waterfront site for more luxury condos.
But times have changed, and residents who want to preserve the fort as a public park for their children are hopeful that today's emphasis on protecting the environment will carry the day.