STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Plans for a massive commercial motor freight station designed to accommodate 184 tractor-trailers on a long, winding curve of Arthur Kill Road in Charleston are currently on hold, according to the NYC Department of City Planning. The project’s applicant has “paused advancement of the project so that they can address Community Board concerns,” the agency noted.
The project, which was highly contested at a Community Board 3 meeting in September, was slated for a 16-acre plot of land located near the corner of Englewood Avenue, between Winant Place and Androvette Street and in close proximity to Clay Pit Ponds Park. The property’s owner, Arthur Englewood LLC, was seeking to “develop a trucking terminal to serve the niche need of industrial/manufacturing/logistics tenants by providing overflow parking, as well as short-term and long-term storage for tractor trailers.”
A rep from City Planning said the agency is not aware of any changes to the project and has not been in contact with the applicant since September, when it asked that the project not advance to the next phase, which would have been a City Planning Commission vote.
The company did not respond to a request for comment about the project’s pause.
“We’re not sure what this means for the site’s future,” the City Planning rep noted.
“This project will further congest an already congested traffic corridor because of the anticipated additional 180+ trucks daily,” Assemblymember Mike Reilly noted on his social media pages about the project in September. (Owen Reiter for the Advance/SILive.com)
As previously reported, both residents and elected officials have voiced concerns about the community and environmental impact of this project.
While permitted under the site’s M1-1 commercial zoning, the proposed facility cannot move forward without a City Planning Commission authorization for changes in the property’s natural features, including tree removal.
But records filed with the New York City Department of Buildings showed that the developer has already removed hundreds of trees without permission: There are several open Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, or OATH, violations on the property for unauthorized tree removal dating back to 2020.
“We first issued a Full Stop Work Order at the property on 9/10/20 after our inspectors observed that they were removing trees from the location without prior city approval,” a representative from the Department of Buildings previously explained to the Advance/SILive.com. “Since that time, DOB has issued multiple violations to the property owners for failure to comply with our orders to halt work and for their failure to remediate the violating conditions.”
An OATH hearing for the violations is scheduled for March; the property owners could face fines of up to $25,000.
Elected officials who represent the South Shore have expressed their concerns about both the tree removal and the size and location of the site.
“I am disheartened to see that, once again, developers are placing their interests before those of the community by putting the cart before the horse. While the concept of such a facility is welcome, I do not believe that this location is suitable due to a number of reasons including traffic, environmental, and public safety concerns,” said Assemblymember Mike Reilly, a Republican who represents the South Shore.
He continued: “For the past several years, I have advocated for the under-utilized Outerbridge Transit Center to be transformed into a full-service rest stop for cars and trucks, similar to those you see along the New York State Thruway. I will continue to push for this as a smarter alternative, and I implore city and state officials to come to the table to make it happen.”
Councilmember Frank Morano, a Republican who also represents the South Shore, said he agrees.
“This project was pushed through without the transportation or environmental review that Staten Islanders expect and deserve,” Morano said. “Our roads and the Outerbridge Crossing are already at a breaking point. Adding 180 trucks per day without introducing a traffic study is both reckless and unfair.”
Morano criticized a sudden peak in development along Arthur Kill Road, citing an abundance of other area projects, including a massive industrial warehouse project now rising at Nassau Place in Richmond Valley and a proposed mixed-use building with hotel.
“Arthur Kill Road is becoming a poster child for overdevelopment,” he said. “There is no real thought on infrastructure and a total lack of planning.”