Economic Development Corp’s Staten Island Skyway Feasibility Study Shares New Opportunities for Port Richmond Community

The development of more greenspace and supporting economic opportunity is imperative to lead the reinvigoration of the Port Richmond area, according to a Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC) Staten Island Skyway Feasibility Study report released today. The Port Richmond neighborhood of Staten Island, once a vibrant hub, now suffers from a number of social and economic challenges. With the least greenspace in New York City, the Port Richmond neighborhood offers very little in the way of supporting community health or economic opportunity for its residents. Now more than ever the COVID 19 pandemic has amplified the importance of outdoor spaces in urban areas and the need to build back better through sustainable green initiatives has never been more profound. The Staten Island Skyway can be a catalyst of change for the North Shore.

The purpose of The Staten Island Skyway study was to provide a blueprint to revitalize the Port Richmond community and surrounding areas through the adaptive re-use of the dilapidated North Shore Rail right of way as an elevated urban pedestrian boulevard in parallel with other revitalization efforts.

“The location of the Skyway project in the heart of Port Richmond provides a tremendous opportunity to create a valuable urban greenspace that will provide benefits to public health, transportation, economic development and quality of life in general…,” said SIEDC’s President and CEO Cesar J. Claro.

“Reactivating this forgotten urban asset will reinvigorate revitalization in the community,” added Ralph Branca, Chair of SIEDC’s Board of Directors. “Our Board, with strong leadership from our Skyway Committee, have been strong believers in this project from its inception.”

Running from the Arthur Kill to St. George, the North Shore Branch railway operated public transportation to the North Shore until cessation of passenger operations in 1953. The majority of the line remains abandoned and unused, including elevated and at-grade sections traversing through the North Shore communities of Elm Park and Port Richmond. Elm Park is a small residential neighborhood located near the Bayonne Bridge, with Port Richmond located to the east. The study was conducted by SIEDC and the widely regarded urban planning firm CME with support and funding through Empire State Development Corporation.

The study focused on four key goals:

1) A preliminary assessment of the feasibility of constructing the Staten Island Skyway

2) An examination of the Right Of Way (ROW) and its connectivity to the community physically and socially

3) An analysis of development opportunities and constraints

4) The next steps for the project will include public art and streetscape beautification of the at-grade portion of the Skyway at its intersection with Port Richmond Avenue. The demonstration project would include the repair and painting of the existing pillars and sidewalk on both side of Port Richmond Avenue with public art murals that reflect the history and identity of the local community. Landscaping beautification would also occur in a small area of the at-grade public ROW located on the western side of Port Richmond.

Copies of the studies are available for download on the SIEDC website at siedc.org