NY1 News: Summer Film Fest Aims To Revitalize St. George Waterfront
Summer Film Fest Aims To Revitalize St. George Waterfront
By: Amanda Farinacci
Click here to watch the video.
After sitting vacant for at least 20 years, waterfront property next to Staten Island’s St. George Ferry Terminal may get new life with a new movie and concert series. Borough reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Most people who pass through the 10-acre site that was once the 19th-century home of the U.S. Lighthouse Service only use the space as a shortcut to the St. George Ferry Terminal. Yet the city’s Economic Development Corporation sees more potential for the historical pier, plaza and buildings.
The long-vacant space will host a free summer movie and concert series called “Summerfest At The Pier,” thanks to the Downtown Staten Island Council, a not-for-profit dedicated to revitalizing Downtown Staten Island.
“People can see what a wonderful place it is and then hopefully we’ll catch the eye of developers and we can spur some economic development down here,” says Kamillah Hanks of the Downtown Staten Island Council.
The city purchased the land back in 1979 to be used by the Department of Transportation. The historic former Coast Guard base was chosen in 1998 to become the home of a national lighthouse museum, as a nod to the borough’s storied maritime history and plethora of historical lighthouses.
Plans for the museum fell apart last year, when the museum board disbanded, citing an inability to raise the necessary $15 million needed to build the project.
Now, the Downtown Staten Island Council hopes its summer events at the lighthouse space can breathe some life back into the area. Last year, the summer movie series drew about 4,000 people to the Richmond County Ballpark for drive-in movies. Organizers are hoping to attract at least that many to the former lighthouse space to get people talking about what the space can be used for in the future.
“The under-utilization of the waterfronts in Staten Island is just incredible and this was a way to open up the waterfront, to show people that we have prime real estate,” says Hanks. “This is prime development and it’s being lost to disrepair.”
At least one of the buildings on the site is eligible for landmark status and city officials say a mixed-use redevelopment plan will include all of the old buildings.
“Summerfest At The Pier” will kick off on Saturday, July 10, with various movies and concerts and day-long festivals designed to support local artists and vendors. For a list of the events, visitwww.downtownsi.com.
SUMMERFEST MOVIES AT THE PIER 2010
July 2010
Click here for the official site
GLIMPSE OF MAN BY RYAN COLFORD
GLIMPSE OF MAN ARTIST STATEMENT:
Glimpse of Man series is an intimate and sensual look at the male form. There is an element of barriers removed and inhibitions cast aside. My focus on the male form is to expose the beauty of man without shame. Society and culture has de-sexualized the male form – from the clothing choices to interactions with other men. One of my main goals is to present a positive and acceptable image of male sexuality. The Glimpse of Man is an exploration both for the model and the viewer. Each image has its own context and story that can be felt and interpreted on various levels.
I invite the viewer to truly appreciate the life, sexuality and energy of man.
~Ryan Colford
St. George Ferry Terminal Ramp Facelift is Funded with Stimulus Dollars
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The city’s largest stimulus project will give Staten Island commuters a safer, more inviting, and more efficient gateway to the borough.
The rehabilitation of the St. George Ferry Terminal’s aging bus ramps, parking lot and access roads and walkways will begin next month. The ramps where riders wait for buses still bear their 30-plus-year-old dingy brick facades, but the structures will get new lighting, better seating, and an overall improved look.
The three-and-a-half-year project, which is paid for with $175 million in federal funding, includes a study of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street traffic near the terminal, to improve access to the ferry. The project was a main priority even before the stimulus program was announced, said city Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and it is expected to be a major benefit for the ferry’s 65,000 daily riders.
While construction is under way, parking will be tougher than ever, and commuters will have to sidestep the work until the project wraps up in early 2013.
The initial preparation stage, scheduled to begin in May and expected to take about three months, will include the relocation of the ferry’s taxi stand to a new area at the base of the terminal steps on the ballpark side. The move coincides with the start of a new program to match commuters with dispatched car service cabs.
Modifications also will be made to the terminal’s passenger pickup and drop-off area below the ramps. Traffic islands on Richmond Terrace outside the terminal entrances will be removed, and temporary signals will go up to direct traffic.
In the next phases, the ramps will be reconstructed, and a new, straight, North Ramp will be built alongside the ballpark, to replace the existing curved ramp that leads to Wall Street.
A new elevator vestibule will be installed on the ballpark side of the terminal to improve accessibility, and an employee breezeway will also get a facelift.
PARKING LOT FIX
The municipal parking lot between the ferry and the ballpark lot will be repaved, and a new drainage system will be installed. The DOT promises to maintain at least 300 parking spaces at all times while the lot is under construction.
Ms. Sadik-Khan noted that the new St. George Parking Garage up the hill on Central Avenue has only been at about 30 percent capacity since it opened earlier this year, so there will be plenty of room for displaced commuters who can manage the hike.
Work will be done between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., with occasional night work, and measures will be taken to minimize construction noise, with sound mufflers added to equipment, she said.
As “the front door to Richmond Terrace,” the new ramps will incorporate “more light, more natural air, and furniture of a quality we can be proud of in a world-class city,” Ms. Sadik-Khan said.
Pigeon deterrents, like netting, will eventually be installed underneath the ramps to protect wary pedestrians passing below.
SAFETY MEASURES
Brighter lighting, and wider walkways with room set aside for both cyclists and pedestrians, will be a big improvement for public safety, said Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore).
“It really will be a boon to Staten Island,” she said, adding she hopes the improved access to the ballpark esplanade and Bay Street Landing corridor will tie into future development plans for the North Shore waterfront.
“It’s not an easy project, but it’s one that has to be done,” said Leticia Remauro, chairwoman of Community Board 1. “I think DOT is trying their best to do this quickly and to have a well-thought-out traffic plan,” she said.
Ms. Remauro said the project is an opportunity to improve safety for pedestrians, many of whom now cross in front of turning buses to get to the ramps and enter the terminal. Building a new North Ramp for vehicles, but maintaining the existing curved ramp for pedestrians only, would be safer for people walking, she said, and could open up space for vendors to set up carts with souvenirs or artwork for sale, and possibly a bike rental kiosk, to draw visitors out of the terminal and into the cultural offerings and restaurants of downtown St. George.
DOT has said the existing ramp, which has taken a beating from heavy truck and vehicle traffic over the years, cannot remain.
“With a little thought to the traffic pattern inside the terminal and with the proper signage, this project could be the catalyst to finally do what CB 1 has been trying to do for ages, get tourists off the ferry to spend money in our community,” Ms. Remauro said.
“One of the results of my fight to bring resources to our district was that we received the single, largest Recovery Act project in New York City — $175 million in funding to rehabilitate the Ferry’s ramps, said Rep. Michael McMahon. “Now that the project is getting under way, Staten Islanders will continue to see the full benefits of the Recovery Act — with new jobs being created and our aging transportation infrastructure being modernized. No longer is Staten Island the forgotten borough.”
—
twitter.com/siadvance
© 2010 SILive.com. All rights reserved.
It’s Tax Time!
Check out Downtown Staten Island tax services available at
your local Liberty Tax office!
Staten Island, NY Liberty Tax Service, the fastest growing tax service ever is opening a new office in at 400 Victory Boulevard in Downtown Staten Island. Offices are open from 9am to 9pm during tax season. Tax professionals will provide free tax advice!
Go visit Grace Donnery and Michael Liderman at Liberty Tax now!
Phone: 718-698-8299
Email: affordtaxesllc@aim.com
The office is owned and operated by V
incent Ferrara. When you visit a Liberty Tax office, you can rely on real help
from real people – and for products and tax services with real benefits!
MTA Public Hearing
In December the MTA unveiled a package of service cuts that is a slap in the face to millions of New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Your borough now faces critical cuts in service that will negatively affect the commutes of thousands of Staten Island residents each day. Please click here to sign our petition and oppose these cuts! Also, please attend the MTA’s public hearing in Staten Island and the NYC Council’s oversight hearing on these cuts. Details are below:
MTA Public Hearing
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
6:00 p.m.
College of Staten Island, Springer Concert Hall
1P Building, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island
NYC Council Transportation Oversight Hearing
Thursday, February 25, 2010
10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Council Chambers, City Hall
(For a complete list of public hearings by the MTA, click here.)
Among the proposed cuts to your borough are:
- Elimination of Student MetroCards
- $40 million in cuts to Access-a-Ride
- Buses to be Completely Eliminated: X6, S42#, S60, S67, X6, X9, X13#, X16, X18 and X20
- Buses to be eliminated on Weekends: S54, S76, S86 and X28
- Buses to have Shortened Services: B64, S54, S57 and S66
- Discontinuation of the Staten Island Railway Special Service
# Service partially or entirely replaced by another bus route
Take Action!
Help us collect signatures for our petition, which we will deliver to each of the MTA’s public hearings. You can find our petition online by clicking here.
Sign up to volunteer! If you would like to volunteer, please contact Nick Rolf at NROLF@council.nyc.gov.
Message from Council Speaker Christine Quinn:
Urge the MTA to find alternative ways to prevent these terrible cuts. To contact the MTA by phone, dial (212) 878-7483; to contact them by e-mail, click here. The NYC Council and the Straphangers Campaign have proposed an alternate budget solution that will allow us to avoid these painful service cuts. To read more about our plan click here. Or click here to read our Op-Ed in the Daily News. With your help we can stop these drastic cuts and ensure greater input from Staten Island residents in the MTA’s budget process.
Tompkinsville Facade Improvement Program Overview
Downtown Staten Island’s New York Main Street Program
About New York Main Street
Throughout the country, Main Streets – the once thriving centers of commerce and social activity of most communities – have struggled to compete with shopping malls and experienced a period of decline. Realizing this underutilized potential, Governor George E. Pataki announced creation of the New York Main Street Program (NYMS), an innovative funding program that is designed to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditionally designed central business districts or “Main Streets” and is alive and well under Governor David Paterson’s administration. The cornerstone of the NYMS Program is a multi-million dollar Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) grant program administered by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to provide financial and technical resources to help New York communities with their Main Street revitalization efforts. The NYMS Program was established in 2004.
The New York Main Street program provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditional Main Streets and neighborhoods. The New York Main Street grant program provides funds from HTFC to business improvement districts and other not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers. New York’s Main Streets are in transition. While many downtown and neighborhood retail districts have seen new life, with significant investment in the development of civic, commercial and residential projects, others have not yet experienced this trend. Many of these communities can once again thrive with proper management and strategic investment of public and private resources.
Main Street grants are revitalizing our downtowns through targeted commercial/residential improvements such as facade renovations, interior residential building upgrades and streetscape enhancements. Cultural anchors, such as theatres or museums, have also been renovated with Main Street funds. Funds are not available for new construction.
Availability of Funds for Tompkinsville Property and Business Owners:
The Office of Community Renewal (OCR) has awarded $200,000 to the Downtown Staten Island Council, LDC (DSIC) in August 2009; the DSIC received these funds to help subsidize costs for the much needed streetscape enhancement and façade improvement in the Tompkinsville area of Downtown Staten Island.
The DSIC will receive $175,000 in matching grants for property and store owners who wish to participate in the program, and $25,000 in streetscape enhancement funds for town center signage, outdoor art and plantings. These streetscape and building improvements will challenge the poor perception of the area and encourage residents and tourist to shop or reside within the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and will seek to connect shoppers, tourists and residents to the commercial district and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood, and complement a newly renovated Tompkinsville park.
Funds are to be allocated as $10,000 matching grants to property owners that choose to rehabilitate their entire building facades, or to property owners or merchants interested in renovating both their storefront interiors and exteriors. The match is a 1:1 grant up to $10,000, meaning that if you spend up to $20,000 you will be reimbursed for 50% of your expenditures; expenses over $20,000 will still only be matched at $10,000.
Due to limited funds and strict program guidelines, DSIC will choose those proposals that best comply with the NYMS Grant Program vision: To respect the original design of the buildings, and to be consistent with the Tompkinsville main street commercial corridor.
Target Area and Boundaries:
The boundaries that are eligible for NYMS funding include Victory Blvd beginning at the intersection of Bay Street to 84 Victory Blvd; Corsen Avenue; from 3 Corsen Avenue to 15 Corsen Avenue; 2 St. Pauls Avenue to 16 St. Paul’s Avenue beginning at Victory Blvd; and even numbered street addresses from 206 to 220 Bay Street off Victory Blvd.
Priority Areas:
- Immediate health and safety concerns and the correction of Code violations
- Buildings where immediate action will stop deterioration of a significant façade
- Historic properties in danger of being lost to disrepair
- Vacant properties where façade improvement or retail space renovation would reduce blight and improve commercial activity
- Building that will undergo substantial façade renovation
Note: DSIC encourages you to discuss your proposed plans at the earliest stages of planning and to begin construction once your proposal has been approved for funding.
Application Documents:
Please submit the following documents to the DSIC at 63 Montgomery Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301:
- A completed application form
- An historic photo of the building (A high-quality photocopy is fine). Between 1939 and 1941, the city photographed every house and building in the five Boroughs. Copies of these images are available for purchase online for about $35 at http://www.nyc.gov/dorforms/photoform.jsp or by mail (see the attached form: 1940 Tax Photos Order Form).
- Exhibit F. This form allows the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation to have use of the photo.
Project Selection Guidelines
- Applicants will be notified of their status within 30 days of application submission.
- Attention will be given to those projects that address the priority areas (mentioned above) and the Design Criteria.
- The DSIC will focus on projects that have the greatest potential to positively impact the Tompkinsville Improvement corridor. Namely, buildings that need significant amounts of repair to be brought up to code or address immediate health and safety concerns.
- The DSIC will distribute available funds as equitably as possible. Therefore, no one property shall receive more than one grant before other candidates are reviewed. Nevertheless, buildings with more than one façade are eligible to receive two grants ($20,000); this is generally the case for large, corner-lot buildings.
- Projects selected to be funded are determined by the NYMS-DSIC Advisory Committee and DSIC staff according to previously mentioned program principles and guidelines.
- Applicants must consent to sign Exhibit E upon project completion. This is a maintenance agreement which requires that improvements be maintained for a period of a minimum of 7 years (“Regulatory Period”). Improvements that are removed or altered during the Regulatory Period shall be recaptured on a pro rata basis to the HTFC. The amount to be recaptured shall be determined by reducing the original grant amount by one seventh (1/7) for each year of the Regulatory Period that the Recipient was in compliance with the Agreement.
For more information go to:
Tompkinsville Facade Improvement Program Fact Sheet
New York Main Street Grant Program: Design Criteria
DSIC APPLAUDS MAYOR & BP FOR PLANS TO REDEVELOP STAPLETON HOMEPORT
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro and members of the Homeport Task Force today announced Ironstate Development Company will invest $150 million to redevelop the approximately seven acres of the Homeport in Stapleton, Staten Island.
As part of the community-driven Stapleton Waterfront Development Plan, Ironstate will transform the decommissioned U.S. Naval Base site into a green development with approximately 800 residential housing units with new stores and a public plaza, creating more than 1,100 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs. The City will invest $33 million in this first phase of development of the Homeport site for infrastructure improvements and a new waterfront esplanade that will provide community access to the waterfront.
State Senator Diane Savino, State Assemblyman Mathew J. Titone, Council Member Kenneth Mitchell, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President Seth W. Pinsky and Ironstate Development Company President David Barry joined the Mayor at the announcement, which took place at the Homeport site.
FERRY RETAIL LEASING
Across the Harbor, a Historic Gem… St. George
Many visits to Staten Island go like this: Ride the ferry from Lower Manhattan. Catch a free glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Disembark. Take the next ferry back.
But the tiny, historic neighborhood of St. George, where the ferry docks, is worth exploring, even if the bleak landscape just outside the terminal suggests otherwise. Get a map at the terminal’s passenger office, and after your amble in St. George, consider a four-minute ride on the S40 bus from the terminal to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, at right, 1000 Richmond Terrace, (718) 448-2500. It is 83 acres of Greek Revival buildings and paradisiacal gardens that will make you feel like you stepped into an E. M. Forster novel.
10:30 A.M.Ride the 1, N, R or W train to South Ferry, and get on board. The ferry is free and leaves Manhattan and Staten Island every half-hour (with variations after 1 a.m., on weekends and during the weekday rush). If it’s a nice day, ride on the upper deck for the fresh air and panoramic views of New York Harbor, Lower Manhattan, Governors Island and the Brooklyn and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges.
11 A.M. As you disembark from the ferry, Staten Island’s stately Borough Hall, will be in front of you, a French Renaissance-style structure built between 1904 and 1906 and designed by Carrère and Hastings, the architectural firm behind the New York Public Library. Go left on Bay Street and walk five minutes to the Everything Goes Book Cafe & Neighborhood Stage, 208 Bay Street, (718) 447-8256, a cozy, welcoming used-book store and community gathering spot run by Ganas, a local commune (it’s closed on Mondays). Tasty, affordable coffee and organic baked goods are for sale, accompanied by live music weekend nights. Ganas also runs a nearby vintage shop, Everything Goes Clothing, 140 Bay Street, (718) 273-7139, closed Sunday and Monday, where one recent offering was a thick Pucci-like shift that felt like a bath towel and cost $14.
NOON Head to the Cargo Cafe, 120 Bay Street, (718) 876-0539, for cool ambience — exposed wood beams, peeling red walls, shabby chic chandeliers — and cheap lunch: $4.75 for a burger, fries and a soda; the weekend brunch starts at $7 and includes muffins and a cocktail or coffee (open Tuesday to Sunday at 11 a.m.; Monday at 5 p.m.).
1:30 P.M. Walk along Central Avenue to Hyatt Street, and visit the St. George Theater, 35 Hyatt Street, (718) 442-2900, an 80-year-old former vaudeville house that was recently restored to its over-the-top baroque glory. Cyndi Lauper and Rosie O’Donnell appeared there last week; Toni Orlando is scheduled for Sept. 10. Be sure to see the auditorium’s glorious, spotlighted dome ceiling.
2 P.M. Time to view some fancy local houses — from the outside; people live there. Map in hand, head up Hyatt Street, take a right on St. Mark’s Place, a quick left on Fort Place and then a right (stay with me) on Daniel Low Terrace to gaze at some very pretty Tudor-style mansions and well-kept flower gardens. Just off Daniel Low Terrace is Fort Hill Circle; check out No. 22, a castlelike house built in 1930.
2:30 P.M. Walk downhill to the Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place, (718) 727-1135, a tiny repository of local history, assorted animals preserved in jars, cool glow-in-the-dark rocks and a portrait of St. George’s namesake, George Law, who, as it turns out, wasn’t a saint at all. Admission: $2.
3 P.M. If you’re peckish again, or thirsty, try Beso, 11 Schuyler Street, (718) 816-8162, a tucked-away tapas bar that also serves Cuban pressed sandwiches for $7.95; glasses of wine start at $7. Or head to Enoteca Maria, 27 Hyatt Street, (718) 447-2777, a modern, authentic Italian restaurant, open Wednesday to Sunday, that has food critics and local folks swooning with its rotating cast of female chefs from assorted regions of Italy.
4 P.M. Take the ferry back to Manhattan. If you skipped the wine, the tapas and the Italian fare, the ferry snack bar sells pretzels and $3.50 domestic beer.
