16 U.S.C. § 460cc

In order to preserve and protect for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations an area possessing outstanding natural and recreational features, the Gateway National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the “recreation area”) is hereby established. (a) Composition and boundaries The recreation area shall comprise the following lands, waters, marshes, and submerged lands in the New York Harbor area generally depicted on the map entitled “Boundary Map, Gateway National Recreation Area,” numbered 951–40017 sheets 1 through 3 and dated May, 1972: (1) Jamaica Bay Unit—including all islands, marshes, hassocks, submerged lands, and waters in Jamaica Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, the lands generally located between highway route 27A and Jamaica Bay, and the area of Jamaica Bay up to the shoreline of John F. Kennedy International Airport; (2) Breezy Point Unit—the entire area between the eastern boundary of Jacob Riis Park and the westernmost point of the peninsula; (3) Sandy Hook Unit—the entire area between Highway 36 Bridge and the northernmost point of the peninsula; (4) Staten Island Unit—including Great Kills Park, World War Veterans Park at Miller Field (except for approximately 26 acres which are to be made available for public school purposes), Fort Wadsworth, and the waterfront lands located between the streets designated as Cedar Grove Avenue, Seaside Boulevard, and Drury Avenue and the bay from Great Kills to Fort Wadsworth; (5) Hoffman and Swinburne Islands; and (6) All submerged lands, islands, and waters within one-fourth of a mile of the mean low water line of any waterfront area included above. (b) Boundary revisions: notification of Congressional committees; publication in Federal Register The map referred to in this section shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, District of Columbia. After advising the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate in writing, the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized to make minor revisions of the boundaries of the recreation area when necessary by publication of a revised drawing or other boundary description in the Federal Register.