'It's Totally Unacceptable': Borough President Vito Fossella Opposes Proposed Housing Development

Borough President Vito Fossella opposed the city’s proposal to build 18,000 houses on Staten Island, mostly multi-family homes on the South Shore and in the Mid-Island over the next five years.

This proposal was made possible, in part, due to the City of Yes, which recharacterized the zoning of “low density” neighborhoods in the city, including the majority of Staten Island, to make way for more development.

“Unfortunately, we are here once again to question what the city is doing to the people of Staten Island,” said Borough President Fossella at a press conference at the corner of Richmond Hill Road and Kelly Boulevard in New Springville. “It’s just a pattern that has emerged over the last couple of months from homeless shelters that nobody wants, to bus lanes that nobody wants, to bike lanes that nobody wants, to the rollout of the pied-à-terre.”

To put it in perspective, Borough President Fossella said building more than 18,000 units of housing on Staten Island over the next five years will triple the number of units built here on an annual basis in the only borough with limited mass transit options and no public hospital.
 
“It’s totally unacceptable and it really is disrespectful to the people of Staten Island,” said Borough President Fossella. “We’re here to say, we want you to listen to us once and for all, and at least, we want you to put the pause button on this conversation about 18,000 units. Most of them have never set foot on this Island and they’re going to dictate how we live our lives. There are all these policies that you have to accept, there’s no recourse, there’s no conversation.”