Staten Island Profiled
Staten Island is the smallest borough (political subdivision) within the nation's largest city, New York. With dismay and frustration, yet always tinged with pride, Staten Islanders refer to their home as "the forgotten borough." Perhaps that was true in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, but no one can make that claim today. Staten Island is thriving, and is certainly far from an afterthought in municipal affairs.
A Growing County
For the first half century after joining Greater New York in 1898, Staten Island was a world away from the city. The great agent of change, of course, was the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Its opening in 1964 initiated a period of urbanization and development that has yet to subside. Before the bridge, Staten Island had abundant open space and relatively isolated communities with what many recall as a small town character. Over the succeeding decades Staten Island grew at a pace far greater than the other boroughs. In 1960 the population stood at 221,991; by 1980 it was over 350,000; and in 2000 nearly 450,000. During the difficult decade of the 1970s, when the city struggled through the fiscal crisis and faced serious fissures in its social fabric and economic stability, Staten Island was the only borough that saw its population increase, as working- and middle- class families in Brooklyn sought newer, larger, and yet affordable residences. In the 1990s it was the fastest growing county in the state.
Nearly 37% of Staten Islanders claimed Italian-American ancestry in 2003, the highest percentage of any county in the nation. Even with the movement of other ethnic and racial groups to Staten Island in the 1990s, and the development of ethnic enclaves of new immigrants on the island's North Shore, the community still maintains an Italian-American flavor.
Managing Growth
Population growth meant the loss of open space and increasingly, the demolition of older single-family homes to make way for townhouse developments. Only recently have residents demanded that their elected representatives support downzoning or designation of properties as landmarks or historic districts. But this belated response to rapid growth was not inevitable. In the early 1970s, Senator John Marchi pushed forward a plan to control development in the southern part of the island. The South Richmond plan encountered loud opposition, and finally failed in the legislature. Subsequent efforts have only partially succeeded in reining in over-development, which continues to outpace the city's efforts to expand the urban infrastructure.
Political Representation
In 1989 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the city's government was unconstitutional because it violated the one-person one-vote principle. Under the old charter, each borough had an equal vote on the Board of Estimate, meaning that Staten Island, with 350,000 residents, had the same vote as Brooklyn, with 2.2 million residents. The Board held important power over zoning and city finances. Under the new charter, the island had three representatives on the 51-member city council, a far cry from the share of influence exercised in city politics under the Board of Estimate. This loss of influence stimulated the island's drive for secession, led by Senator Marchi. In 1993, Staten Islanders approved a charter for a new City of Staten Island, but the drive stalled in Albany when the New York State Assembly refused to consider the measure without a home rule message from the city. Thus ended this ultimately quixotic campaign for independence.
While secession failed, the movement did yield substantial results. First, in the same election, Staten Islanders overwhelmingly supported Rudy Giuliani, and that vote proved the decisive margin in his victory over David Dinkins. During the Giuliani administration, Borough President Guy Molinari was quite successful in pushing the island's agenda, especially the closing of the Fresh Kills Landfill.
Now, the island's vote has become increasingly influential as the swing vote in many elections. Staten Island's vote proved crucial in electing Republican mayors Rudy Giuliani in 1993 and 1997, and Michael Bloomberg in 2003. And accordingly, the island's interests have received a more favorable hearing. The recent closing of Fresh Kills landfill on the west shore of Staten Island demonstrate the particular political savvy and clout of Staten Island's elected officials in city and state politics.
Fresh Kills Landfill
Fresh Kills opened in 1948, when landfills dotted wetlands and marginal land across the city. Ultimately, only the dump on Staten Island remained open, and it became a sore point for residents. Because the city promised it would be closed at some yet to be determined future date, builders sold homes near the landfill, much to the regret of the new homeowners. Over the years, Senator Marchi and Assemblywoman Elizabeth Connelly attempted to have it shut down, or at least more adequately regulated. But it took the unusual circumstance of the alignment of three powerful Republicans in the political firmament to finally close the site, namely, Governor George Pataki, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Borough President Guy Molinari. Add to this Senator Marchi and Democratic Assemblyman Eric Vitaliano, who had legislation ready in the state legislature to bind the mayor and governor to their word.
The Staten Island Future
Staten Island is now a mature, almost fully built-out suburban borough. Current zoning, however, permits as many as 150,000 more residents. Now the question is to properly manage further development and protect the island's historic and natural resources, while simultaneously improving the existing infrastructure. In the 1960s, Staten Islanders lobbied successively to preserve the Greenbelt and create new parks, but in the decades since much open space has been lost. Historic Richmondtown has saved many historic structures, but older neighborhoods remain under threat from teardowns and the construction of townhouses and "McMansions." Families moved to the island for the quality of life, but residents face the longest daily commute in the nation, and the construction of schools failed to keep pace with demand. Perhaps the era of dramatic change has passed, but clearly many challenges face the island ahead.
Jeffrey Kroessler, PhD
John Jay College, CUNY
