Photo by Bill Kline
With views of the Manhattan skyline, real estate developers have always viewed the North Shore of Staten Island as the city’s next boomtown. Despite the efforts of residents to achieve that potential, much of the shoreline remains economically depressed. But now residents have some hope.
Some areas have started to spring back. One step of the process includes restoring the former Blissenbach Marina to a public park. But there is still much work to be done.
At the end of this month the Department of City Planning will release the final draft of two reports, which focus on those goals. The citywide Vision 2020 plan focuses on the city’s shorelines. And the North Shore Land Use and Transportation study offers recommendations for revitalizing the waterfront. In this slideshow, Patricia Salmon, curator of the Staten Island Museum, describes how the borough’s history bleeds into its present.
Being a Staten Islander, I was shocked to hear how building a bridge brought the land prices up. I thought the fact that SI was now more accessible to outsiders would make those who lived on the Island upset and want to sell…