"We want smart development, not just ANY development." - The North Shore Waterfront Scoping Meeting Recap
***Let your voice be heard!!!***
Submit a written comment with YOUR opinion.
Due Date: Friday, October 9th, 2026
"We welcome written comments on the Draft Scope of Work through Friday, October 9, 2026. Written comments can be submitted via email to iyoung@moec.nyc.gov." - EDC
Yesterday at 6:30pm I shuffled along with rest of the crowd of people through familiar glass doors to board the Staten Island Ferry as I've done so consistently for over the past 10 years. Looking around I'm surrounded by a diverse crowd. I see a family with a baby and a toddler. A group of teenagers laughing and chatting away. A man in a wheelchair and a stranger helping him down the ramp. An elderly woman pushing a cart past the ferry workers and police to the main level of the boat. Tourists enjoy the view from the windows, and in the yellow and blue rounded seats native Staten Islanders like me head home from work after a long day.
I went to the bottom level, found a seat in the section that I always sit in, and despite the spotty connection I put on my headphones and clicked on a zoom link.
The North Shore Waterfront Scoping Meeting
From the title of the meeting I would have had no idea what that is. Hosted by the NYCEDC (The New York City Economic Development Corporation, often called just the EDC), this scoping meeting presented the Staten Island North Shore Waterfront Plan to the public where they're going to redevelop Empire Outlets and the former New York Wheel site next to the ferry in St. George.
I think the coalition Take Back St. George explained what scoping means great in a post they made:
"Before development projects can be approved, it must go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), NYC's way to decide how land is used. During this process, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a precautionary review process that considers the environmental, economic, and human impacts of the project, is completed. The EIS considers everything from wildlife & flood zones, to traffic, & public transportation needs."
This meeting presented the EIS in the form of a powerpoint and opened the floor to the public to voice concerns and opinions until everyone was heard. The host of the meeting Ingrid Young who works for New York City Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination, expressed that, "The purpose of today's scoping meeting is to allow for public participation in the preparation of the EIS at the earliest stage possible."
Most of the meeting, which stretched from 6:30pm until around 11pm, was full of members of our community giving their opinions on the proposed plan, talking about their personal experiences in the area, and how they think that the plan is going to affect us all.
Each person was given 3 minutes to speak and so many people spoke. It was quite amazing to see and honestly inspiring seeing people so invested in their community. Just when you thought the last person was finished another person would raise their hand to add their own experience. In the call we listened to all kinds of people such as members and leaders of the St. George Civic association, the New Brighton Civic Association, a librarian, artists and small business owners, skateboarders, members of The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), a former Empire Outlets small business owner, members of the Staten Island Urban Center, Forest Avenue Residents' Civic Association, members of the Environmental Coalition of Staten Island, Maker Park Radio in Stapleton, a College of Staten Island Professor, an architectural designer, member of the Staten Island Young Democrats, St. George Think Tank, community organizers, and most importantly residents of St. George and of greater Staten Island.
Of all these people speaking there was one message that was clear.
This proposed plan doesn't address the needs of the people.
So what exactly was in the plan that everyone seems to hate?
The powerpoint isn't released at the time I'm writing this article, but you can read North Shore Waterfront Plan Draft Scope of Work for an Environmental Impact Statement dated August 26, 2026 that explains a lot of the actual plan before the EIS.
It talks about development on 3 sites, building high rises to address the housing need of SI (of which only 20-30% will be affordable housing) and some sort of public green space around the buildings. These new resident buildings are to add 2,500 new dwelling units directly next to the ferry.
Plan for Site 1 Plan for Site 2 Plan for Site 3
At first listen this sounds good, but when you hear what people who actually live there have to say, this paints a different story.
The biggest thing I heard voiced across almost the entirety of speakers was that they do not want residential buildings built on the site (or at least want way smaller buildings). This is because of 4 things:
Basic needs are not being met in St. George. How is St. George to accommodate a thousand more people living in the area if the people living there right now don't feel taken care of? Some of the needs expressed are simply grocery stores, pharmacies, medical facilities, and regular parking. People would prefer other things built there that would improve the quality of life for current residents.
Between Staten Island Ferry commuters, courthouses, the police precinct, and residents there is virtually no parking in the area and it's very congested. Adding in such a large amount of people without the supporting infrastructure will further jam up the area and make it very hard to travel.
These huge buildings are being built to address the need for accessible housing in the area, but if only a 20-30% of units in the buildings are going to be affordable housing then they are not serving their intended purpose making it questionable as to who this housing would be serving.
The building of these high rises will have an environmental impact and the environment will impact them. They're being built in a place that floods. Hurricane Sandy greatly affected the area and residents stated in the meeting that even just this last storm flooded a lot of Bay Street and Richmond Terrace. Additionally questions were asked about if they were to use environmentally green materials and address concerns about the high buildings being built in the Atlantic Flyway affecting native bird populations.
In addition to hearing what people didn't want they also adamantly proposed what they would want there instead! “We want smart development, not just any development.” This includes:
The needs of the neighborhood to be met. A supermarket, pharmacy, and medical services.
A park with waterfront access and nature to break up the concrete that covers St. George. Some different park amenities that speakers really want are a fishing pier, skatepark, kayak launch, bike lanes, & open walkable third spaces where people can congregate.
Artistic, Cultural, and Recreational Spaces such as a youth center, theatre, concert venue, event space, studio spaces for artists, a gym, an indoor pool, and even a Maritime Education space.
Improving transit and congestion. Extend the Staten Island Railroad back to Ballpark Station and beyond down Richmond Terrace along the north shore. Expand the drop off/pick up area for the Ferry Terminal to accommodate traffic during rush hour.
This doesn't mean that people don't want more housing. They just don't want it at these sites taking up space right smack in the middle of an accessible hub. "We are not Jersey City," is a sentiment echoed many times when describing these tall buildings. A suggestion made from the public was that if there are to be huge high rises built they should be built at the abandoned hospital site in Stapleton. It doesn't need to take up an area that can be better used to serve us all: those currently living in St. George, but also commuters making a stop there on the way home to get groceries, go to the gym, or meet a friend.
"I feel tonight went really, really well. I have never seen that many people on and speaking at a meeting. Every single one of us are just trying to do the right thing." - Kwynn Hogan, a leading member of Take Back St. George, Protectors of Pine Oaks Woods, and Friends of Mariners Marsh Park
“Is it housing or nothing?”
Everyone knows that the Empire Outlets were built for tourists and not the locals. That's why there was no life in it. It didn't have a soul. A small business owner who spoke during the meeting said, "If you want the property to be a destination, it need's a local identity." The tourists didn’t feel like they were getting an authentic New York experience and so EO failed. What was so desperately missing was the actual New Yorkers.
It seems like many people feel the same way about the proposed housing. That it's not for us. It's for people who are going to move here from other places and it won't solve any of the problems that people on the north shore are facing.
Looking around and attending the meeting while I was on the Staten Island Ferry, it really dawned on me how much this plan would affect Staten Island. Not just the people who were taking the boat with me, but also everyone who takes the ferry on its 117 daily trips. I looked out the window towards the silhouette of our island and cherished it, logging it in my memory, because one day it's not going to look the same. A local in their 3 minutes to speak described the Staten Island Ferry as our front door. Let’s make a place for visitors while first and foremost caring about the people who already call St. George their home.
***Let your voice be heard!!!***
Submit a written comment with YOUR opinion.
Due Date: Friday, October 9th, 2026
"We welcome written comments on the Draft Scope of Work through Friday, October 9, 2026. Written comments can be submitted via email to iyoung@moec.nyc.gov." - EDC
Comments