![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/5IFXALC74JBB7D6PGXZ4ZASPH4.JPG\")
State Assemblyman Charles D. Fall lays out some of Staten Island’s most pressing needs at the start of a new mayoral administration.STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE<\/p>\nAs the city welcomes Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani into office, Staten Island stands ready to work with a new administration that listens, collaborates and delivers. This transition is a chance to address longstanding challenges and build a fairer, more connected future for every resident, regardless of party or background.<\/p>\n
Transportation remains one of the greatest daily struggles for Staten Islanders. The cost of getting to work, school or family across the bridge has become unbearable for many. Keeping the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge toll at $5.50 is possible because of Democratic leadership at the state level, and it gives us a foundation to build on. The next step is reducing the financial strain even more. Setting aside $5 million a year to bring that toll down to $3 would show a meaningful commitment to affordability and fairness. People shouldn\u2019t have to choose between paying bills and crossing a bridge to get to their jobs.<\/p>\n
Public transit must also be more accessible and affordable. Staten Island\u2019s express buses are lifelines for thousands of working people. A pilot program that cuts fares in half on select routes would ease commuting costs while reducing congestion. As part of that effort, the Bus Rapid Transit project is essential for modernizing our system. BRT brings faster, more reliable service through dedicated lanes and better roadway design, and it will only reach its full potential with coordinated support from the city. That partnership ensures Staten Island finally receives the level of service other boroughs already benefit from.<\/p>\n
Affordability goes beyond transportation. It shapes how we live, work and raise our families. Staten Island needs stronger investment in its local economy, small businesses and neighborhoods that have been overlooked for far too long. Vacant industrial properties can become hubs for jobs and innovation. Supporting small businesses that anchor our communities will strengthen our workforce and keep our neighborhoods vibrant.<\/p>\n
State Assemblyman Charles D. Fall lays out some of Staten Island’s most pressing needs at the start of a new mayoral administration.STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE<\/p>\n
Public safety must remain a top priority. Staten Island continues to face gaps in police staffing that stretch local precincts thin and impact response times. We need more officers assigned to our borough so we maintain a visible and consistent presence that deters crime and supports community-based policing. Safety isn\u2019t partisan. It\u2019s a basic expectation for every resident.<\/p>\n
Housing remains a major concern as families and seniors are being priced out of the neighborhoods they\u2019ve called home for decades. The city should work closely with the state to ensure new developments include affordable options that reflect real household incomes, with community input guiding each decision.<\/p>\n
Quality of life ties everything together. That means safer streets, cleaner parks, stronger schools and shorter commutes. It means making sure our infrastructure, roads, transit hubs, waterfronts and resiliency systems keep pace with a growing population and a changing climate. It also means further reducing tolls, improving bus service and addressing everyday concerns that weigh on working families.<\/p>\n
The Mamdani administration has a chance to reset how City Hall views Staten Island. For too long, our borough has been treated as an afterthought. This is the moment to show that Staten Island matters as much as any other part of New York City. Reducing transportation costs, supporting housing and small business growth, improving public safety and investing in quality of life should be shared priorities that unite us all.<\/p>\n
Staten Islanders aren\u2019t asking for special treatment. We\u2019re asking for equal attention, investment and respect. Mayor-Elect Mamdani has the opportunity to deliver that from day one, and I look forward to working with him to make that vision a reality.<\/p>\n
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the city welcomes Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani into office, Staten Island stands ready to work with a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-48766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}