{"id":62584,"date":"2025-12-06T11:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/62584\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T11:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:24:07","slug":"proposed-369-unit-tower-on-staten-island-faces-opposition-over-parking-density","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/62584\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed 369-unit tower on Staten Island faces opposition over parking, density"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Members of the Land Use Committee of Community Board 1 recently voted to deny a builder\u2019s request for rezoning, after residents and local officials voiced concerns about the developer\u2019s plan for a new 18-story residential tower in St. George<\/a> and its impact on parking, overcrowding and neighborhood character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project calls for 18 stories and 369 dwelling units in a space where there are currently six homes,\u201d noted Marie LaFrancesca, who represented Borough President Vito Fossella at Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not taking into account all of the previous applications that have already been filed for the same neighborhood \u2026 it\u2019s too much in one specific area and the neighborhood infrastructure cannot absorb this. The borough president is adamantly opposed.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaFrancesca was one of many to speak out against the project, planned along a steep incline of Hamilton Avenue at the intersection of St. Mark\u2019s Place and located adjacent to the property allocated for the River North towers \u2014 a planned high-rise that has faced opposition and obstacles since 2020<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Hamilton Avenue tower would replace two, two-family and four single-family homes, several of which were built close to a century ago. The biggest point of contention at the meeting, however, was the lack of parking: Only 146 on-site spots have been allocated for the 369 proposed residential units.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a car-oriented borough, we depend on cars because of an already existing lack of infrastructure,\u201d one speaker noted. \u201cYes, the ferry is right across the street, but how will these residents go grocery shopping or to the Mall? Bus service is lacking, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit only runs on the east coast of the borough. Was any of that taken into consideration? We\u2019re not the same as the other boroughs.\u201d <\/p>\n

Another resident added: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of density proposed for St. George. Whether it all gets built or not, we don\u2019t know. But our main issue there is congestion. This is a Manhattan type of building, but we don\u2019t have the same bus service as Manhattan, and we certainly don\u2019t have the same amenities as Manhattan. Where will the residents shop and dine? What schools will the children attend?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauren George, an urban planning consultant who works with Mega Contracting Group, the Astoria-based company that is developing the site, addressed these concerns. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis team is of the mind that this project is part of a changing community,\u201d she said. \u201cDensity of people brings more retail and amenities. We agree that\u2019s what people want, and we are looking to be part of that swing of the evolution of this community.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"CommunityAccording to documents filed with the Department of City Planning, the project calls for 18 stories and 369 dwelling units in a space where there are currently six homes.(Staten Island Advance\/SILive | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n

According to the plans filed with the Department of City Planning, the mixed-use building will feature 1,250 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, as well as a variety of possible amenities, including a basketball court, a dog run, and racquetball court. <\/p>\n

In order to provide those amenities, Mega Contracting Group is seeking a zoning change from a purely residential R6 to an R7-3\/C2-4 mixed-use district that allows for both medium-density residential and commercial development.<\/p>\n

To move forward, the project will need city approvals for a zoning map amendment and a zoning text amendment. The map change would \u201cup-zone\u201d the project site, removing it from the Special Hillsides Preservation District, and adding it to the Special St. George District. <\/p>\n

Removal from the Special Hillsides Preservation District \u2014 established by the city in 1987 to preserve the character of the North Shore\u2019s Serpentine Ridge and prevent erosion \u2014 would lift several building limitations.<\/p>\n

Inclusion in the Special St. George District \u2014 developed in 2008 as a way to encourage a pedestrian-friendly commercial corridor around the St. George Ferry Terminal \u2014 would align with the builder\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

The Community Board meeting was the first step in the rezoning process. Input will also be needed from the borough president, the City Council and mayor. <\/p>\n

\"CommunityThe proposed project site is located adjacent to the property allocated for the River North towers \u2014 a planned high-rise that has faced opposition and obstacles since 2020. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n

Bill Robertson, a Hamilton Avenue resident who is a majority stakeholder in this particular project and whose home would be included in the tear down, said he welcomes the change. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here for over 33 years, raised my family here and have seen too many projects get announced and never realized,\u201d he said. \u201cBut those stalled projects are starting to come back to life. I love this neighborhood and love that the momentum and the development is picking up. If this project is indeed approved and possibly built, I and my wife and family will continue to live here. It\u2019s great to see things finally in motion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Members of the Land Use Committee of Community Board 1 recently voted to deny…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-62584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62584","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=62584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}