City Planners Unveil Long-Term Plan For North Shore
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Preliminary results have been released for North Shore 2030, a two-year study of what the northern half of Staten Island will need to prosper, but it may be years before those ideas are put into action. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report. There are plenty of spots on Staten Island's North Shore where one can see beautiful views of the water. The Kill Van Kull stretches along five miles of Richmond Terrace and is home to many of the island's maritime businesses.
The waterway does not offer much to residents in terms of access and recreation, because it is often blocked by traffic and fencing. Improving waterfront access for residents is just one of the recommendations of North Shore 2030, a collaborative study between City Planning and the city's Economic Development Corporation.
"The North Shore is there because of the waterfront, and yet residents are blocked off from the amazing things that are happening every day behind those walls," said EDC official Ben Margolis.
Densely populated and diverse, the North Shore is home to many residents who do not have cars and rely on buses or livery cabs to get around.
The study supports the creation of the long sought-after North Shore Rail Line and adding express buses to the local routes.
Creating jobs, increasing road safety for drivers and pedestrians and addressing some environmental issues created by the area's industrial history are also priorities.
Another priority is creating so-called "neighborhood centers" to support the surrounding community with jobs, entertainment, transit and housing.
"it's things like banks and pharmacies and the dry cleaners, the neighborhood type of services where it's nice just to be able to walk by to the ATM or walk by if you need your prescription or just ran out of notebooks - that type of local small scale retail," said EDC official Kate Van Tassel.
City Councilwoman Debi Rose, who represents the North Shore district, says that is a great idea.
"There are commercial strips that used to be viable years ago where they are no longer, so we need to bring back these commercial strips that are in our little town centers," said Rose.
The public comment period ends on December 1 and the EDC expects to issue its final report and begin implementing some of its recommendations sometime early next year.
For more information about North Shore 2030, visit nycedc.com/northshore.