Debi Rose Calls for Comprehensive Zoning Plan for the North
Shore -- "Development Should Improve Communities—Not Ruin Neighborhoods."
Debi Rose Endorses the City-Wide Preservation Platform
ST. GEORGE, Staten Island — Staten Island has been the
victim of overdevelopment and uncontrolled growth that is destroying the
environment, choking traffic and leading to overcrowded schools, New York City
Council Candidate Debi Rose said today.
Ms. Rose said that a comprehensive plan aimed at
controlling development and protecting neighborhoods is critical for making
sure that Staten Island remains an affordable and beautiful place to live.
"We are tearing down existing homes in order to squeeze in
high density townhouse developments which are inconsistent with our
neighborhoods," Ms. Rose stated. "We need to comprehensively revise zoning so
that it matches existing neighborhood patterns."
Ms. Rose stated that one of her first tasks on the City
Council would be to support comprehensive revisions to the zoning resolution.
The revision must address Staten Island's North Shore issues.
Ms. Rose specifically addressed issues currently facing
North Shore neighborhoods. She said she supports the efforts to construct the
new courthouse complex in St. George and believes that the existing burial
ground can be memorialized and a low-rise courthouse built on the municipal
parking lot site. She emphasized that the streetscape along the Hyatt Street
side of the new courthouse should not become a multi-level parking garage.
Instead, the building should be designed in context with the neighborhood and
reflect the low-rise buildings on the other side of Hyatt Street.
Ms. Rose said she opposed the proposed 17-story apartment
building a developer plans for Hyatt St. and St. Marks Place. She said this is
the type of out-of-scale development that a new zoning resolution must prevent.
She noted that she also opposed the concept of transferring air rights —
another tool the developer planned to use to build the high-rise building.
Ms. Rose notes that she has long supported the efforts for
historic designation of two districts in Stapleton (Mud Lane and Harrison
Street), Snug Harbor East, a St. George extension, and Port Richmond. At her
press conference today, she urged that these districts be fast tracked before
more of the existing historic buildings in these neighborhoods are lost.
Ms. Rose also announced that she supports the Preservation
Platform that has been endorsed by more than 100 community groups throughout
New York State, including the Mud Lane Society and the St. George Civic
Association. She noted that the Platform would give the City Landmarks
Commission the independence and funds to move ahead on Staten Island historic
designations. She noted that Staten Island has fewer historic districts than
any other borough and that the last district designated was St. George/New
Brighton in 1994.
Ms. Rose's specific development proposals include the
following:
- Downzoning of communities to match existing neighborhood
patterns.
- Revisions to the bulk and height restrictions to make new
construction match the pattern of existing buildings.
- Including scenic view corridors in the zoning resolution
(such as exist for Brooklyn Heights) to protect Staten Island's harbor views.
- Further refinements to the Hillside Preservation
District.
- Revising outdated waterfront zoning from manufacturing to
residential and commercial.
Ms. Rose said her plan for future development would
detail how to:
- Use federal and state programs to preserve low- and
moderate-income housing and senior citizen housing.
- Use Island waterfront in a balanced way that includes
public spaces, affordable housing, and commercial use when appropriate.
- Employ adaptive reuse of existing buildings such as Farm
Colony for senior housing and assisted living.
- Protect wetlands and public spaces.
- Improve infrastructure including water, sewer, public
safety and transportation as conditions for further development.
Ms. Rose emphasized that it is the role of government to
reform zoning and that the burden should be on agencies such as the City
Planning Commission. Government should not shift the burden to local
communities.
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