 Borough President Vito Fossella was joined by Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, the Port Richmond North Shore Alliance, and community residents to oppose the construction of a lithium-ion battery storage facility in the heart of Mariners Harbor.
The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility is under construction in a vacant lot at 2166 Forest Ave. on the edge of a dense residential neighborhood, between a strip mall and a deli and across the street from Lowe’s Home Improvement and Kohl’s department store. There are also two gas stations across the street. Staten Island accounts for 6% of New York City’s population, yet 50% of the BESS sites are planned for Staten Island.“ A few years ago, the city in its lack of wisdom, decided to change the rules of the game and allow for BESS units to be developed in some types of residential and commercial areas that for most of the city’s history was not allowed,” said Borough President Fossella at a press conference. “Sure enough, once they allowed the floodgates to open, people started looking around the city to find the cheapest place to put these units and what do we have -- they decided that Staten Island was the best place for these units to be built because of the relative price of land and the opportunity that existed.” Borough President Fossella noted that BESS sites have caused fires throughout the country, often forcing the evacuation of neighborhoods and the closures of highways. Once the fires are deemed under control, residents return home only to be evacuated again as the fires re-ignite. “In short, the city's been playing with fire with these things," he said. Mario Buonviaggio, vice president of the Port Richmond North Shore Alliance, said battery energy storage developers are “state shopping.” “When issues like this arise, you have to follow the money,” he said. “So, now we have this concern that these companies are state shopping and they’re going to the lowest bidder. This reeks of incompetence, corruption and quid pro quo.” Comments are closed.
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