Staten Island Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Michael Cusick, a former Democratic Assemblyman, said a successful concession on the two plots could serve as a centerpiece for an East Shore resurgence, particularly after the completion of the East Shore Seawall. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the [request for expressions of interest] gives people the opportunity to weigh in and put out ideas that maybe the government and the local entities are not thinking about,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cIt is a gem that is going underutilized.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Parks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/OTTDWLTQ2RBSBEE732QMQNNNCY.jpeg\")
A map rendering shows where the city Parks Department hopes to site future concessions on the campus of the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.(Courtesy: NYC Parks)<\/p>\n
The Parks Department\u2019s request for expressions of interest includes about 25 potential concepts for concessions that could be brought to the site, including a restaurant, an amphitheater or even an indoor amusement park.<\/p>\n
Athletes flock to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex throughout the cross country and indoor track seasons, but the surrounding lack of amenities has long been a complaint for those sports communities.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Lauren Primerano, the administrator for Ocean Breeze Park, highlighted the missed economic opportunities at the site given the number of high schoolers who spend time there for all-day track and field events.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the kids are here for 12 hours a day, so we do have a lot of situations where we see the kids are Door Dashing, Grub Hubbing. We constantly have deliveries coming to the facility,\u201d Primerano said. \u201cThey\u2019re always looking for something to do, especially those that come [from] out of town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Primerano made those comments at a press conference announcing a $50,000 Staten Island Economic Development Corporation study into improving opportunities along Father Capodanno Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Cusick \u2014 who serves as a board member for the Ocean Breeze Park Alliance, a non-profit organization supportive of the complex\u2019s development \u2014 said an emerging business corridor along Father Capodanno Boulevard has been a focus of his work since taking over the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation in early 2023<\/a>. <\/p>\n The former Mid-Island state assemblyman said the planned seawall along the shoreline is vital to any future opportunities in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get people focused on it \u2014 what are the possibilities when that wall is built?\u201d he said. \u201cWhat could be built there? The state owns a lot of the property there because of the buyouts.\u201d<\/p>\n Government acquisitions of dozens of nearby lots after 2012\u2019s Hurricane Sandy typically came with covenants against future development, requiring properties remain as open space. <\/p>\n The seawall, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project officially known as the South Shore of Staten Island Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, has been in the works for decades and stalled repeatedly, even after the federal government agreed to fully fund the project in 2023. <\/p>\n