Op-Ed: Infrastructure First, Redevelopment Second for Staten Island

Felix Ciampa, executive director of the Urban Land Institute New York, pens on op-ed on the subject of a critical, yet sometimes neglected step in urban transformation: infrastructure investment. The setting is State Island, due for a major overhaul with the Destination St. George project. According to Ciampa, "city officials need to do more to prepare Staten Island for the changes ahead. The city will only be able to truly celebrate neighborhood growth if it is also prepared to enhance and strengthen the infrastructure that sustains it in the long term."

Once millions of additional visitors begin to take advantage of Staten Island as a destination, asks Ciampa, "how will the borough handle this sudden influx of visitors, tourists, shoppers and new residents? More specifically, how will the borough's existing transit resources accommodate all of this new development — and what must be done to ensure that Staten Island's new developments thrive in the spotlight of their new-found popularity?"

Ciampa goes on to call for a new look at the area's existing plans, paying specific attention to infrastructure and transit access. The time for planning and building new infrastructure, is now, according to Ciampa—not after the developments already underway on the island have been completed.