{"id":16078,"date":"2025-10-25T11:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T11:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16078\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T11:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T11:05:08","slug":"staten-island-officials-ballot-proposal-5-threatens-access-to-crucial-property-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16078\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island officials: Ballot proposal 5 threatens access to crucial property maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Although most residents may have their minds set on the mayoral race<\/a>, there will be a number of proposals on the ballot this Election Day<\/a> that could impact day-to-day life in New York City.<\/p>\n

Among those issues at hand is ballot proposal number five<\/a>, which pertains to the digitization of a singular city map.<\/p>\n

While at first glance the proposal may sound efficient, experts who have worked with borough maps for decades are warning residents of the undisclosed repercussions such a resolution could pose.<\/p>\n

The keepers of Staten Island history<\/p>\n

In the lower levels of Borough Hall in St. George lies the print copies of the Island\u2019s history. Safely kept in vaults are thousands upon thousands of intricately-detailed maps of the streets which residents call home. The historical documents date back decades upon decades – some dating back to the 1800s – and are carefully inscribed with information, ranging from home numbers to street ownership.<\/p>\n

\"TopographicalOne of the vaults holding thousands of maps in the Topographical Bureau at Borough Hall in St. George, as seen on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)<\/p>\n

These maps are often relied upon for matters such as accurate house number assignments and resolving property right discrepancies. Nobody knows these maps and the lands they encapsulate better than the men and women of the Topographical Bureau.<\/p>\n


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It\u2019s the unanimous opinion of these Staten Island experts and all five borough presidents that residents should vote no for ballot proposal five.<\/p>\n

They maintain a \u201cyes\u201d vote for this proposal would ultimately remove the local office from each respective borough in a move akin to a power grab that would simply result in more red tape and the loss of direct access from borough residents to their own street maps.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Staten Island resident has a question, they come here, they get the question answered – face to face or over the phone – and proposition five effectively will dismantle this whole situation and consolidate it [with the] City Planning [Department], which can be like a black hole,\u201d Borough President Vito Fossella told the Advance\/SILive.com Wednesday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Opponents said the centralization of all these maps and responsibilities could result in extended response times to simple inquiries, a lengthy backlog of requests and a staff who isn\u2019t familiar with the historical context that borough-specific staff is able to provide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a resident has a question, they will no longer be able to come here, will no longer be able to call this office. They\u2019ll have to call the agency of City Planning in order to get it, and our concern – and I think it\u2019s a huge concern – is that people are going to get shut out of the process,\u201d said the borough president.<\/p>\n

\"TopographicalA map of a section of South Beach as seen in the Topographical Bureau at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)Citywide opposition<\/p>\n

Fossella is not alone in this stance, back in July, all five borough presidents penned a letter to the Charter Revision Commission in opposition to the proposed amendment to the New York City Charter, the city\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Charter Revision Commission frames this proposal as an administrative streamlining measure yet fails to demonstrate how transferring topographic duties to another agency will improve efficiency, accuracy, or responsiveness,\u201d the letter reads in part. \u201cIn fact, the Commission\u2019s report offers no evidence of systemic failure or inefficiency within the current borough-based Topographic Bureaus. On the contrary, these functions are a vital part of the city\u2019s land use, zoning, and infrastructure ecosystem, and are executed with the local precision, institutional knowledge and community responsiveness that only borough-based governance can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TopographicalBorough President Vito Fossella looks at one of the maps in the Topographical Bureau at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)<\/p>\n

Brooke Russell-Zaccone, operations office manager for the Topographical Bureau of Staten Island, explained that the bureau has helped countless constituents, architects, attorneys and others with requests requiring the aid of the bureau. Given the local care and office location, the staff has been able to assist residents and get them on their way in a matter of minutes. A \u201cyes\u201d vote for proposition 5 would essentially remove the requirement for the borough president to maintain the bureau and pave the way for the defunding and eventual closure of the office, according to those who contest the proposition.<\/p>\n

In it\u2019s final report, the Charter Revision Commission says it \u201cstrongly believes that any transition to a City Map maintained by the Department of City Planning will rely on the expertise of the Borough Presidents\u2019 topographic staff, and that administration of a unified City Map will likewise rely on that expertise.\u201d However, it adds that it would remove the Charter requirement that borough presidents maintain a bureau staffed by a professional engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe eventuality of all of this is, by consolidation, it\u2019s going to diminish the borough president\u2019s authority, eventually, to where the representation of the people of Staten Island – and of each borough – is going to be diminished to a point where the decisions are going to be made at Manhattan at a round table instead of here, in Staten Island, where it belongs,\u201d Engineering Technician Thomas Mooney told the Advance\/SILive.com.<\/p>\n

Given the challenges posed by \u201cCity of Yes\u201d<\/a> and the rapid growth of Accessory Dwelling Units, house number assignments remain a concern for the bureau, which feels it is uniquely qualified to address Staten Island\u2019s complex challenges. Should there be errors in house number assignments, residents may result in a delay during an emergency response or packages delivered to the wrong address.<\/p>\n

\"TopographicalTiffany Zuffi (left), topographical coordinator, and Borough President Vito Fossella (right) look at maps in the Topographical Bureau at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)<\/p>\n

As noted by Russell-Zaccone, the vast majority of the staff has been with the bureau for at least 10 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s vital and is needed and it needs someone who understands, where it relates to and what it means, not a tech bro who can just scan it and just post it somewhere,\u201d she said. \u201cSo the concern we have is the loss of local access and local representation with people who are knowledgable and know about the borough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss of history<\/p>\n

With this proposal comes the question, what happens to these maps and the staff who cares for them?<\/p>\n

The bureau does not know.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf City Planning takes over the house number assignments, if City Planning takes over the maps, yeah, it\u2019s a good question, what happens to the staff? Nothing\u2019s been said to us, nothing\u2019s been said to our office,\u201d Russell-Zaccone said.<\/p>\n

Even if the proposal goes through, Russell-Zaccone explained that it is just not realistic for such a tight timeframe. Should the proposal pass, there is a deadline of Jan. 1, 2028, for the maps of the boroughs to be consolidated into one unified city map under the Department of City Planning.<\/p>\n

\"TopographicalOne of the vaults holding thousands of maps in the Topographical Bureau at Borough Hall in St. George, as seen on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Advance\/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)<\/p>\n

To be clear, Fossella and the bureau are not against digitization, in fact, the bureau continues to take steps towards digitizing local maps themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they could somehow guarantee that the human interaction, and let\u2019s call it customer service was going to be better, then I think we would be for it, but it\u2019s not,\u201d Fossella said. \u201cCustomer service will get worse, people will get more confused, people will have to deal with the new system that I think will be extremely complicated and it\u2019s unfair; it\u2019s unfair to those people who just want a simple answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people want to be inconvenienced, if people have land use issues and want terrible, potentially terrible service, if they want to go to Manhattan or someplace else to solve a problem, then they should support this referendum,\u201d he added. \u201cBut if they want to be convenienced, if they want to have a ear of people where they can get fast answers to Staten Island problems and they don\u2019t want to be traveling to Manhattan and sitting in an office for hours on end and may or may not get an answer, then every Staten Island resident should vote against proposition number five.\u201d<\/p>\n


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