Published: Dec 08, 2022, 4:28 p.m.
By Joseph Ostapiuk | jostapiuk@siadvance.com Paul Liotta | pliotta@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Optimism abounded in Rossville Thursday about the future of a longstanding eyesore in the neighborhood, but there’s a long way to go before the site’s potential can be realized.
In the shadow of the massive liquified natural gas (LNG) tanks at the former Rossville Marine site off Arthur Kill Rd., the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced that it chose the real estate development company NorthPoint to help transform the site into a future location for the state’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.
David Rickard, NorthPoint’s vice president of development, borrowed some local nomenclature calling the project the latest step in developing the West Shore as the “Jobs Coast,” a term long-used at Borough Hall.
“We really are honored to be selected as a conditional developer for the Rossville property,” Rickard said. The company will remain the developer if they remain committed to transforming the site for the offshore wind industry.
The plan will combine a city-owned piece of property and private land, which together comprise the former Rossville Marine site, for NorthPoint to develop into the future location of an offshore wind manufacturing plant covering about 100 acres of the Island’s West Shore.
It will go along with a $566,000 state investment at the College of Staten Island (CSI), of the City University of New York (CUNY), to help develop the school’s curriculum around the offshore wind industry.
“Revitalizing Staten Island’s West Shore is another crucial step forward in creating a nation-leading offshore wind ecosystem in New York and moves us closer to achieving the city’s ambitious climate goals,” NYCEDC Chief Operating Officer Melissa Román Burch said.
The announcement follows NYCEDC’s search for a partner to develop the 33-acre piece of property that the city condemned in 1990 when it sought to put a 1,000-bed jail at the site before ultimately paying Rossville Marine $57 million eight years later, according to Advance reporting from the time.
An NYCEDC representative said they received multiple responses when they put out a request for proposals about the site, but it seems that NorthPoint already had a bit of a leg up.
The Missouri-based real estate development firm had entered a lease agreement with the current owner of the adjacent 66 acres that make up the rest of the old Rossville Marine site, a Brooklyn-based organization called Kolel Beth Yechiel of Tartikov, Inc.
If everything goes according to plan, NorthPoint will redevelop the site tearing down the two massive LNG tanks, remediating environmental contamination in the area, replacing existing piers at the site to ship what’s manufactured out to sea, and ultimately, preparing it for use in the offshore wind industry.
It’s unclear when all that will be ready, but if successful, the Rossville site will be less than a mile from another NorthPoint location — the former Kinder Morgan Terminal — that the company expects will be part of the manufacturing and storage-end of the offshore wind industry.
Those two sites, the Arthur Kill Terminal, which recently received $48 million in federal funding, and the investment at CSI will help position the Island as a jobs competitor in the developing industry.
Timothy Lynch, CSI’s interim president, said the school would use the money at its department of engineering and environmental science to build a renewable energy systems facility, along with upgrades to existing facilities. New equipment will include a wind turbine test bed, and training systems.
“The college is developing programs to meet the needs of the emerging offshore wind industry with research and innovation,” he said. “These investments will allow us to train the critical workers needed by the offshore wind industry and will pipeline students into jobs as engineers, environmental scientists, wind technicians, machinists, and more.”
New York State law dictates the state has 70% of its electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2030 and calls for the development of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.
City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) has been one of the Island’s most vocal advocates for developing the Island’s offshore wind industrial capabilities to help meet those energy needs despite years of being snubbed for other parts of the state.
During Thursday’s event, the councilman said the announcement marked a particular milestone after years of bad ideas for the city-owned piece of land, like the jail idea.
“I can’t tell you time after time how many bad ideas I have heard not just for this property, but for the three other major properties that have been sort of earmarked for the offshore wind industry,” he said. “It takes three of the biggest properties on the South Shore of Staten Island and takes them off the threatening block.”
All of Borelli’s government colleagues who spoke during the press conference shared his optimism about the site that will serve as a manufacturing hub for parts that will be shipped out to sea for the offshore wind turbines.
Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), chair of his chamber’s energy committee, said the Island’s expansive shoreline would help position it as a leader in the industry.
“Many of us pass by here many times during the week and during the year, and we see that there’s nothing really going on here,” he said. “To have it be a site that will be an integral part of New York state’s mission for wind energy…makes us all proud, but it’s also very important because it is going to be part of our children’s future.”
Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore) said the project would help pave the way for an economic boom on the Island.
“Staten Island is getting in on the ground floor of something truly spectacular,” he said. “The development of this site will be the model for waterfront projects across the East Coast and it places Staten Island, in particular, on the map as a clean energy hub.”
State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) called it a rare win-win for the Island’s dealings with government officials, and said that he was excited to see what NorthPoint transforms the site into saying that the company’s reputation precedes it.
“This is an auspicious moment. This is a great day for Staten Island,” he said. “The things that are going to be made here will potentially mean the air that we breathe will be cleaner, and that’s a wonderful thing.”