 Logo | |
| Abbreviation | SIEDC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1993 |
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Purpose | Advocate for economic development of Staten Island |
Membership | Over 200 |
President | Michael Cusick |
| Website | www |
Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that advocates for the economic development of Staten Island's economy. [1] The SIEDC has organized the SIEDC Business Conference and the SIEDC Health and Wellness Expo. [1]
The SIEDC was established in 1993 at the behest of Republican Borough President Guy Molinari who named a member of his staff, Cesar Claro, as the first president and CEO, offices he would hold for 29 years. When the SIEDC started it only had a $50,000 budget and 5 employees, but, by the end of Claro's term, had a multi-million dollar budget and over 200 employees. On April 14, 2022, Claro announced that he would be stepping down as president and CEO to reenter the private sector and would be succeeded by his Senior Vice President and a Staten Island Advance journalist, Gina Gutman until a more suitable replacement could be found. [2] On February 21, 2023, recently retired New York State Assemblyman, Michael Cusick (D-63), was named the president and CEO of SIEDC, replacing Gutman. [3]
| No. | Name | Tenure | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cesar Claro | 1993 - April 14, 2022 | Republican | [2] | |
| - | Gina Gutman | April 14, 2022 - February 21, 2023 | Independent | [3] | |
| 2. | Michael Cusick | February 21, 2023 - present | Democratic | [3] |
On December 8, 2022, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in conjunction with SIEDC designated NorthPoint the developers of an offshore wind farm at the Rossville Municipal Site. [4] The 33 acre offshore property is owned directly by the city with the goal of turning it into an offshore wind port facility. [4] Additionally, the College of Staten Island was awarded a $566,000 grant to help train offshore wind technicians. [4] In June of 2023, NYCEDC announced the "Summer of Offshore Wind" in conjunction with the SIEDC as an educational program to teach Staten Islanders the economic benefits of the offshore wind farm in the form of new jobs and energy production, stating that the Rossville site will provide 13,000 local jobs. [5] [6]
On April 19, 2023, the first Global Wind Organization certified training facility in the state of New York was opened for potential Rossville site employees, with a formal ribbon cutting on April 21, the facility is an offshore barge and joint venture between Indigo River and Menotti Enterprise named the TMI Waterfront. [7] SIEDC applauded the opening of the facility, with then President Michael Cusick celebrating the cooperation between the two companies. [7] [8]
In May of 2017, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) allotted $4,000,000 to study a rail connection between Staten Island and New Jersey Transit, namely connecting Staten Island to a Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station in Bayonne via a light rail addition to the Bayonne Bridge. [9] The project, named the West Shore Light Rail has been heavily pushed by the SIEDC, which has collected over 25,000 signatures for candidates promoting it in the New York State Assembly and the New York City Council. [10] Additionally, SIDEC promotes the proposed Staten Island Gondola initiative, a 2.5-mile gondola which would run between Richmond Avenue and Forest Avenue in Port Richmond to the Eighth Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Station. [10] The two projects are expected to drastically reduce commute times for both residents of Staten Island and New Jersey. [11] [12]
Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and operated by the New York City Transit Authority Department of Subways. SIR operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing local service between St. George and Tottenville, along the east side of the island. There is currently only one line on the island, and there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the New York City Subway system, but SIR riders do receive a free transfer to New York City Transit bus and subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters on the railway typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan. The line is accessible from within the Ferry Terminal, and most of its trains are timed to connect with the ferry. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 3,757,700, or about 13,000 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.
Bayonne Bridge is an arch bridge spanning the Kill Van Kull and connecting Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island in New York City. It carries New York State Route 440 (NY 440) and New Jersey Route 440. It has the sixth-longest steel arch mainspan in the world, and this span was the longest in the world at the time of its completion. The bridge is also one of four connecting New Jersey with Staten Island; the other two roadway bridges are the Goethals Bridge in Elizabeth and Outerbridge Crossing in Perth Amboy, and the rail-only span is the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge, all of which cross the Arthur Kill.
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, at the city line with West New York, and North Bergen.
Rossville is a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York, on the island's South Shore. It is located to the north of Woodrow, to the west of Arden Heights, and to the south and east of the Arthur Kill. Rossville is located within Staten Island Community Board 3.
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as GCT New York, is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east side of the Arthur Kill, at the entrance to Newark Bay, just north of the Goethals Bridge and Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge.
Eltingville Transit Center is a park and ride transit center that is located in Eltingville, Staten Island. It is located at the intersection of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue, at the end of the Korean War Veterans Parkway. The transit center was completed in 2004. Amenities include schedules, maps, free parking, and vending machines for soda, snacks, and MetroCards. The center is halfway between the Eltingville Staten Island Railway station and the Staten Island Mall, another transit center, including the adjacent Yukon Depot.
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a rail vertical-lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, New York, United States. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1959 to replace the Arthur Kill Bridge, a swing bridge opened in 1890. It contains a single track that is used mainly to carry garbage out of New York City, as well as to transport freight to destinations in western Staten Island. The bridge parallels the Goethals Bridge, which carries Interstate 278. It has the longest lift span of any vertical-lift bridge in the world, with two 215-foot (66 m) towers and a 558-foot (170 m) truss span that allows a 500-foot (152 m) channel. It clears mean high water by 31 feet (9.45 m) when closed and 135 feet (41 m) when lifted.
8th Street station is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) in the Bergen Point section of the city of Bayonne, New Jersey. The southernmost stop in Bayonne, 8th Street station serves as the southern terminus of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail. Located on an elevated track next to Route 440, the station is accessible at the intersection of Avenue C and West 8th Street. The station, unlike the rest of the line, has a full station depot that doubles as accessibility to tracks per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The depot is two stories high and contains elevators and access to the platform, which is an island platform with two tracks. East of the station, the tracks merge into one to reach 22nd Street station. The station serves tracks for the local service to Hoboken Terminal along with an express service known as the Bayonne Flyer. The station opened on January 31, 2011 as an extension of service from 22nd Street.
Staten Island light rail proposals refer to two projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years. Neither proposal was funded in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2015–2019 Capital Plan, but $4 million was allocated to a study for it.
Michael J. Cusick is a former New York State legislator who represented the New York State Assembly's District 63, in Staten Island, New York. He is a Democrat, and served in the Assembly from 2003 to 2023.
St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, SIUH Community Park and Richmond County Supreme Court. St. George is a rare example of a rail-boat connection in the United States.
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the Staten Island Expressway in the Port Ivory neighborhood. The yard leads into the Travis Branch of the railway, the Howland Hook Container Terminal, and the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge to Elizabeth, New Jersey and the Chemical Coast and is part of the ExpressRail network.
Wind power in New Jersey is in the early stages of development. New Jersey has just six wind turbines, but the state has plans to develop several major offshore wind projects on the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern Jersey Shore. Legislation has been enacted to support the industry through economic incentives and to permit wind turbines on existing piers.
From the start of railroading in America through the first half of the 20th century, New York City and Long Island were major areas for rail freight transportation. However, their relative isolation from the mainland United States has always posed problems for rail traffic. Numerous factors over the late 20th century have caused further declines in freight rail traffic. Efforts to reverse this trend are ongoing, but have been met with limited success.
ExpressRail is a network of on- or near-dock rail yards supporting intermodal freight transport at the major container terminals of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The development of dockside trackage and rail yards for transloading has been overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which works in partnership with other public and private stakeholders. As of 2019, four ExpressRail facilities were in operation, with a total built capacity of 1.5 million lifts.
The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) is an intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located along the Upper New York Bay, between 29th and 39th Streets in the Sunset Park and Greenwood Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York City. The site is adjacent to Bush Terminal and Industry City, which respectively lie directly to the south and east. A recycling and waste transfer facility managed by Sims Metal Management is the major tenant. In May 2018, the city contracted partners to activate the largely unused terminal.
The Teleport is a suburban-style 100-acre business park east of New York State Route 440 and west of the Bulls Head neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City. It includes five Class A office and specialized buildings totaling 700,000 square feet, as well as additional development-ready sites.
The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore from Saint George to Port Ivory. The line continues into New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge to Aldene Junction in Cranford.
The S59 and S89 constitute a public transit line in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey. The S59 runs wholly in New York City, between Port Richmond and either Eltingville or Tottenville in Staten Island, largely running on Richmond Avenue. The S89 makes limited stops along Richmond Avenue, running from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Eltingville, Staten Island, New York. They are both based out of the Yukon Depot.