Landfill roads by '07, limit lefts on Hylan

A Christmas Tree Shop bargain store will be built in Charleston and the boardwalk will get facelift

Staten Island Advance - January 20, 2005

Borough President James Molinaro laid out a host of new traffic, parks, building and economic initiatives last night during a State of the Borough speech that also served as an unofficial kickoff to his re-election bid this year.

"The state of the borough in 2005 is vibrant and getting better every day," Molinaro told a crowd of close to 700 supporters, elected officials, dignitaries and others in the Center for the Arts at the College of Staten Island.

In his third State of the Borough speech, Molinaro called for the roads in the Fresh Kills landfill to be opened to Island drivers by 2007, and said the city would study whether left turns should be banned on certain parts of Hylan Boulevard.

He also announced the opening of new stores and schools on the Island this year, and said he would continue to improve the borough's parks.

Among those in attendance was Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also up for re-election this year.

ADDRESSING TRAFFIC

Molinaro, a Conservative who ran with Republican Party support, said the borough has more than 1,000 miles of roadways, over 1,200 traffic lights and 7,000 stop signs.

"And most of us have probably had the feeling that we've encountered each and every one of them at some point or another," he said.

He said the city Department of Transportation (DOT) agreed that the Fresh Kills roads should be opened in order to alleviate traffic.

"Opening the existing landfill roads to the public is not a question of if, but when," Molinaro said.

"The streets and the highways that we're going to put in the landfill, that's one of the most important things," Joseph Valentin, president of the 122nd Precinct Community Council, said after the speech.

Molinaro also said the DOT had commissioned a study for a pilot project to analyze whether left turns should be banned on Hylan Boulevard unless a left-turn "stacking lane" is present.

He said the study area stretches from Steuben Street to Richmond Avenue, and that the study should be completed this year.

"So hopefully, the results will make a 'turn for the worse' into a 'turn for the better,'" Molinaro said.

ZONING SUCCESSES

Molinaro said the Growth Management Task Force, which tackled overdevelopment in 2004, would reconvene this spring to study Island manufacturing zones.

"We will follow up on the history-making work we completed last year," Molinaro said.

City Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) said that reconvening the task force was "the most important thing I heard from the borough president tonight."

Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) agreed.

"For me, it begins and ends with the overdevelopment issue on Staten Island," Lanza said. "For too long, it was ignored."

Molinaro said 116 new house numbers were issued on the Island in July 2004, a month before his new zoning text changes went into effect. The next month, only 68 house numbers were issued, he said, a 41 percent drop.

"So this proves the text changes have worked," Molinaro said.

He also said the number of temporary certificates of occupancy had dropped from 126 to six between September 2003 and September 2004.

Among other changes, Molinaro said builders should be mandated to register with the city Buildings Department by name, a change he'd like to see instituted this year.

"This is the only way we can control the problem of fly-by-night developers and unqualified contractors," Molinaro said.

FOCUS ON PARKS

Molinaro said his administration had committed $21.5 million to parks since 2002, and would look to spend more in the future.

He said the South Beach boardwalk would get a $1 million "facelift," including new benches, new litter baskets and the installation of mile markers and street signs. A new restaurant and catering hall will open there in the spring.

Molinaro also announced the creation of a master plan for Clove Lakes Park, which would upgrade the park's athletic fields, build new restrooms there, and keep the lakes healthy.

Molinaro said construction would begin this year on a synthetic soccer field near the Ocean Breeze fishing pier -- the first synthetic soccer field in a city park on the Island.

He said the recreational fields at Bloomingdale Park would be named in honor of the late community activist Lorraine Sorge.

"Lorraine was someone who, throughout her life, worked tirelessly on behalf of the children of the South Shore," Molinaro said. "This is a fitting tribute to her legacy."

But state Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) was disappointed Molinaro didn't mention more North Shore projects, outside of a plan to possibly improve the old Blissenbach Marina.

"There was not much said about development on the North Shore beyond the park," she said.

STORES, SCHOOLS, COPS

As part of his effort to bring new businesses to the Island, Molinaro announced that a Christmas Tree Shop bargain store would be built in the Charleston Retail Center this year, the first Christmas Tree Shop to open in the city.

"So you can plan on doing less shopping in New Jersey, and more shopping right here on Staten Island," Molinaro said.

He added that new Stop and Shop stores are being built in New Springville and New Dorp, which would create 250 jobs, and that SI Bank & Trust, a division of Independence Community Bank, would finance a free income tax assistance center in St. George.

On education, Molinaro said the design phase would begin for a new K-through-8 school to be built on the site of the PS 44 Annex, Graniteville. Also on track is a new 500-seat intermediate school in New Springville.

"That's good news for Island students," he said.

The Petrides School in Sunnyside will receive new athletic fields through the "Take the Field" program, he added.

Molinaro said some of the 100 new police officers recently assigned to the Island would focus on traffic enforcement. Bloomberg said some of the new cops would also patrol the Port Richmond "impact zone."

BLOOMBERG ALLY

Molinaro lauded Bloomberg several times during the speech for his support of Island projects.

"We are certainly very fortunate to have a mayor of this caliber in City Hall at this time," Molinaro said.

Bloomberg, who got a standing ovation from the crowd, said Molinaro and his staff were a "perfect plus-10 in my book."

He called Molinaro "one of the strangest people I've ever met" and "one of the most honest people I've ever met."

"It's been great working with him for the last three years, and I look forward to working with him for the next five," Bloomberg said.

-- Advance news reporter John Annese contributed to this report.
 

By Tom Wrobleski
Reprinted here with permission from the