STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As Election Day nears, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will look to modify the controversial City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning text amendment that has sparked overdevelopment concerns among Staten Islanders.
Cuomo, who is running as an independent mayoral candidate after losing to Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary, visited the New Lane Older Adult Center in Rosebank to greet residents during the center’s annual Halloween party.
After briefly chatting with residents, the former governor provided the Advance/SILive.com with an exclusive interview to discuss the need to amend the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which has been fervently opposed by borough residents who fear it will drastically change the character of their low-density neighborhoods.
“The attitude is often what works for Manhattan works for the outer boroughs. That is not true. The outer boroughs are different. They have different characteristics. They have different communities. There are reasons why people live in the outer boroughs,” said Cuomo.
“This one size fits all does not work. With City of Yes, we have to make sure that it is applied in a way that protects the characteristic of that particular community and we have to be very sensitive to making sure the needs of the local community are represented and met,” he continued.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate to be the next mayor of New York City, spoke to Staten Islanders at the New Lane Older Adult Center in Rosebank on Friday, Oct. 31. (Advance/SILive.com | Erik Bascome)Advance/SILive.com | Erik Bascome
The zoning text amendment, which is intended to spur the development of tens of thousands of new homes across New York City, implemented significant changes to what can be developed where, including allowing ancillary dwelling units (ADUs) on one- and two-family properties and small apartment buildings in areas where they’re not currently permitted.
When asked how he would address Staten Island’s housing shortage while also maintaining the character of the borough’s predominantly low-density neighborhoods, Cuomo said, “We can do both. There’s plenty of space to build.”
When pressed for specific changes to the zoning text amendment that he would seek to implement if elected, the former governor provided little to no detail, stating that he would work with the City Council to address residents’ concerns.
The Advance/SILive.com has spent the past year providing award-winning coverage of the City of Yes and its impact on Staten Island. Visit silive.com/topic/city-yes/ to learn more about how the controversial zoning text amendment will shift the landscape of the borough.
Councilmember Kamillah Hanks and former State Sen. Diane Savino were both in attendance for the New Lane Older Adult Center’s Halloween party, but made clear to the Advance/SILive.com that they were attending independently and were in no way affiliated with the Cuomo campaign.
The Friday visit marked Cuomo’s second appearance on Staten Island this week, having rallied with members of the Italian American community on Wednesday to criticize a 2020 social media post in which Mamdani posted a picture of himself giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus with the caption “Take it down.”
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