Menin Courts Developers for Staten Island Downtown Plan
Local politicians have a vision for higher density on the North Shore of Staten Island. First they need multifamily developers to buy in.
Council Speaker Julie Menin and Majority Whip Kamillah Hanks are trying to drum up interest around the NorthShoreNYC plan, a major redevelopment goal to grow the waterfront’s residential and commercial footprint as a downtown area, which would require not only further rezoning of areas that have failed to deliver sufficient growth but also significant public and private investment.
The City Council has already allocated more than $38 million to the effort in its fiscal 2027 budget, with $10 million of that total going toward improvement projects including the Tompkinsville Esplanade and Pier 1 rehabilitation, both intended to connect the ferry landing with the Stapleton waterfront.
But nonprofit Volunteers of America – Greater New York was the only developer to join Menin and Hanks for the Friday announcement. Single-family developer Bob Kelly of Master Built Homes was slated to appear, but didn’t ultimately attend the event. So far, other multifamily developers needed to deliver thousands of new housing units lawmakers envision for the North Shore haven’t yet raised their hands.
City-owned sites including the Jersey Street Garage, New Stapleton Waterfront and Stapleton Beacon offer examples of projects that have already attracted developers, but still haven’t broken ground. The vision plan points out that even after the recent Bay Street and St. George rezonings, significant private mixed-income housing development hasn’t flocked to the North Shore.
“Without allowing larger buildings, these areas will not develop into the vibrant Downtown Staten Island that we envision,” the Majority Whip’s vision plan says. Prioritizing stalled projects across city-owned sites at Lighthouse Point, plus redevelopment of the failed NY Wheel site and a portion of Empire Outlets, aims to spark additional private development in the surrounding neighborhoods under this project’s proposal.
“We cannot ask Staten Islanders to accept more development while telling them to
wait another generation for the infrastructure they have needed for decades,” Hanks said in her prepared remarks Friday. “You cannot tell Staten Island to build and then leave Staten Island to figure out everything else.”
The only project built on the Bay Street Corridor since its 2019 rezoning was affordable and supportive housing at 475 Bay Street, financed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The affordable housing projects already in early phases enlisted the usual nonprofit partners; at the Jersey Street Garage, VOA – GNY, Spatial Equity Co. and Nehemiah HDFC will handle the buildout of another HPD project.
What we’re thinking about: Are any developers likely to take lawmakers up on their vision for a rezoned North Shore of Staten Island? Or is the whole borough destined to always prioritize more single-family projects? Let me know at ben.miller@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Open House New York, the city’s annual chance to peek inside some of its most iconic buildings, returns next month. Locations opening their doors include the old bank building at 190 Bowery, formerly owned by the late photographer Jay Maisel, and the new residential conversion of the Flatiron Building. This year will also feature a walking tour of the Second Avenue Subway construction site and the Interborough Express line, still in the early phases of its buildout.
Elsewhere…
— New Jersey Lieutenant Gov. Dale Caldwell resigned after investigators substantiated a sexual harassment complaint against him, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said at a press conference Friday. The investigators also determined that Caldwell had improperly accepted free tickets to events for guests and angled to secure a promotion for a state employee whom he was dating, finding that he committed workplace policy and ethics violations, Gothamist reported.
— Immigrant rights advocates who sued over the conditions at 26 Federal Plaza swayed a federal judge to permanently cap the number of detainees who can be held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cells on the building’s 10th floor. In the permanent injunction, the judge said that the conditions of confinement during the summer of 2025 were “inhumane and unconstitutional,” referencing evidence that included a video showing cramped conditions inside the holding cells first obtained by The City Reporter.
— Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman failed to properly disclose real estate holdings that generated rental income, plus investments that together brought in more than $250,000, raising potential compliance concerns, Politico reported. The Nassau County executive already had to amend his 2025 disclosure twice because they didn’t properly report his affiliation with two corporate entities or his wife’s work with an Arizona-based real estate firm.
Closing time
Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Friday was $14.9 million for 565 Broome Street, S16B. The new construction condo unit in Hudson Square is 3,600 square feet. Corcoran’s James Weiss, Tyler Mabry and Spencer Bloch had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $9.9 million for 296 Third Avenue. The five-story, mixed-use building has 16 units and covers 10,500 square feet of gross floor area. Solana Holdings is listed as the buyer, per records.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market is $50 million for 390 West End Avenue, Unit 7GH. The Upper West Side condo at The Apthorp is 8,400 square feet. Douglas Elliman’s Michael Lorber and Alexander Boriskin have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permits filed were for a proposed square footage of over 400,000 at 100-150 Ocean Point Drive and 25-45 Seacrest Lane. Architect Joseph Frankl of JFA Architects is the applicant for multiple 12-story residential buildings with 99 units.
— Joseph Jungermann
