[NYguy]

https://ny1.com/nyc/staten-island/ne...s-north-shore#

Reimagining Staten Island's north shore


By Victoria Manna
Jan. 25, 2024

These concrete bases are the foundation for what was supposed to be the New York Wheel, a 630-foot observation wheel, but developers scrapped those plans in 2018.

But now the city’s Economic Development Corporation, or the EDC, is putting the site back on the market.

“You know, there’s 60 million tourists that visit New York every year. Millions of them get on the Staten Island ferry. We want them to get off on Staten Island,” Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the EDC, said.

Hoping for the same outcome is Braulio Bunay, the MasterChef at River Rock Café at the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

“We need a change on the North Shore,” Bunay said. “It really is empty because there’s no businesses there’s nothing around, nothing interesting.”

He spent most of his 25 year career as a chef in Manhattan but came to his hometown of Staten Island last summer because he says he sees the potential of the neighborhood.

“There’s a great view. We have good food, just like in NYC. So we have [the] same food, same concept as New York City, so why do we not have people here?” Bunay said.

Apart from the wheel, there’s been a consistent effort to build up the north shore.

An improved baseball stadium with a new team to match and The Empire Outlets — the city’s first outlet mall. The mall opened in 2019 to slower than expected foot traffic and efforts to lure luxury brands to the mall failed as COVID-19 forced some stores to close.

“Well, that’s the great thing about Mayor Adams, Like he’s willing to acknowledge where we hadn’t done enough in the past and to lie out a new pathway forward,” Kimball said.

Kimball says a new amusement site is the next phase of what the city is calling the “North Shore Action Plan.”

“It has a $400 million of public investment creating a green ribbon from Stapleton to right where we’re standing today at the North Shore entertainment and amusement facility. It includes 2000 units of housing. It includes enormous new amenities,” Kimball said.

Bunay says he is hopeful the city will deliver and make Staten Island a destination for both tourists and New Yorkers.

“I believe in New York City and I believe in Staten Island,” Bunay said.

The EDC says it hopes to start looking at proposals in April and to announce a new developer by the end of the year.