 Borough President Vito Fossella joined members of Community Board 2 and residents of the Travis community at the corner of Victory Boulevard nd Travis Avenue to oppose a project to lift the marshland section of the Travis Avenue Roadway.
"We're not opposed to improving the road conditions, our concern that we raised was how long is this project going to take?" said Borough President Fossella at a press conference at the site. In response to plans by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the busy throughway that connects the West Shore to the rest of Staten Island could take as long as 18 months to up to two years to complete. "Our initial reaction was that's nuts," he added. "We can't shut this road for almost two years." Shutting down this vital section of Travis Avenue will greatly disrupt the lives of the residents of the Travis community, Mid-Island Little League, the football league, anyone who works along South Avenue, the Hilton, anyone trying to cross from the south shore to South Ave., are amongst some of the concerns. This heavily traveled road has approximately 40,000 cars a week traveling in both directions. That's a lot of cars and residents that will have their lives disrupted each week to navigate their way away from and around this closed stretch of Travis Ave. Another major cause of concern is the response time by FDNY Squad 8, located on Victory Boulevard approximately one block away from Travis Ave. With already stressed response times, if this roadway is closed for two years, their response time will double. Without the ability to quickly navigate down Travis Ave. to New Springville, they will be forced to travel up to Signs Road and loop around, resulting in even longer response times that could mean the difference between life and death. "In good conscience, I cannot stand here and say that we should support the closure of this roadway for almost two years," said Borough President Fossella.  Borough President Vito Fossella officially kicked off the 29th year of his "Readers Are Leaders" Challenge at P.S. 23.
Started in 1996 by then-councilman Fossella, fourth-graders across Staten Island are encouraged to read five books in five weeks and submit a project on their favorite book. A "Super Reader" will be chosen by each school to be recognized at an award ceremony in the spring. To celebrate the kickoff, students dressed up as their favorite literary characters, bringing their beloved stories to life!  Standing alongside concerned residents of Manor Heights, Borough President Vito Fossella once again rang the alarm on the dangers and placement of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on Staten Island.
At a press conference at the corner of Manor Road and Tillman Street, Borough President Fossella addressed the hazards of having a lithium-ion BESS site in the heart of residential neighborhoods. "What we've been saying from day one, and beating the drum, is there should be a moratorium on the placement and development of these battery storage units until safety protocols are in place," said Borough President Fossella. "Almost every month, we see stories around the country where these storage units go on fire." The ongoing fight against BESS units continues as new areas are targeted for development, many in residential neighborhoods near people's homes, restaurants, schools, and small businesses. "I want to ask anybody in city government who has a conscience, why would they allow these units to be placed next to people's homes," said Borough President Fossella. With numerous stories across the country of lithium-ion battery fires and the dangerous conditions of those fires, Borough President Fossella urged the City to "stop playing with fire and put a moratorium on these things." |