Staten Island’s Faber Park Receives $6.5 Million in Renovations

The improvements to Faber Park provide a more open and welcoming experience and assists in the Department of Parks and Recreation’s goal to create a more equitable park system. On April 22, 2021, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Silver announced the completion of improvements to Faber Park in the Richmond Terrace neighborhood in Staten Island. Funded by Mayor de Blasio and Council Member Deborah Rose, the improvements to Faber Park come … <Read More>


City Planning Proposes Homeowner-Friendly Zoning Rules for Staten Island Neighborhoods

The changes allow homeowners to bypass the lengthy review process for certain types of projects. On July 2, 2020, the Department of City Planning announced new proposed zoning rules for some Staten Island neighborhoods that make zoning rules more efficient and homeowner-friendly, and that reflect recent advances in environmental science.


Closing Rikers Island: A Catalyst for Criminal Justice Reform

Former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, speaking at a CityLaw Breakfast on January 23, 2019, powerfully argued that the time has come to close Rikers Island, New York City’s notorious jail located on an island in the East River. Judge Lippman’s remarks echoed the 2017 recommendations of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform which Judge Lippman chaired. Judge Lippman spoke at the breakfast in a question and <Read More>


Staten Island Borough President wins street name dispute

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo imposed negative street names for new streets laid out in a development. In 2014, Mount Builders, a land developer, purchased land in Staten Island on which it planned to build 200 new houses on three newly created streets. The property that Mount Builders acquired was known as Mount Manresa, which was the location of the first Jesuit retreat house in the United States as well as park land graced … <Read More>


Special hearing on Backlogged Items Devoted to Staten Island Properties

Items at issue included a former retirement community for sailors, a Colonial-era stone farmhouse, a lighthouse, and the Vanderbilt family mausoleum. On October 22, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the second of four special hearings to address the backlog of items calendared before 2012 but never brought to a vote on designation. The hearing consisted of three batches, of seven to eleven items each, all located in Staten Island. Twenty-six items in total were … <Read More>


BSA Grants Variance for Senior Housing in Staten Island

Existing zoning regulations would not have permitted proposed three-story building.  On March 4, 2015, the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant Mangone Developers Corporation a variance for a proposed three-story senior housing building in Midland Beach, Staten Island. The proposed building is located at 1891 Richmond Road in a Special Natural Area District of Staten Island, at the corner of Richmond Road and Adams Avenue.