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Millions of new visitors are expected to flock to downtown Staten Island when the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets open in St. George.

(Advance file photo)

By Felix Ciampa

Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute New York

With Staten Island's waterfront poised for transformation, Borough President James Oddo recently touched on what may be the most important issue for city officials as development moves forward.

"I would rather have the infrastructure challenges that are looming than have a waterfront that is totally underused," Oddo told the Urban Land Institute New York's Borough Development Series forum on June 25.

There are certainly big changes coming to St. George and soon no one will be able to say that the waterfront is underused. There are plans for a large-scale retail complex, new housing, new hotels and the largest observation wheel in the Western Hemisphere.

Together, these innovative projects will activate St. George's streetscape, raise the borough's profile and attract waves of new visitors who could spark lasting economic benefits for the community.

But changes -- even positive changes like these -- bring challenges, and 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.

If all goes as planned, we could soon see millions of additional visitors flocking to Staten Island each year -- and many of them will want to explore the borough further, rather than stopping just outside the ferry terminal.

But 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?

The city should revisit existing area-wide plans for Staten Island to ensure that the resources are there to improve infrastructure and expand transit access in and out of St. George as development moves forward. While developers can make compelling cases for the positive economic impact of their projects, without these investments there will be legitimate concerns among local residents about both the immediate and long-term impact of development on their community.

A challenge, yes -- but one that City officials should embrace as a prime opportunity to ensure that Staten Island's waterfront revitalization is truly sustainable.

As we have seen all across the city, it is crucial that transit access -- whether by car, train, bus or ferry -- keep pace with development, not just to drive growth but also to mitigate the kinds of avoidable problems that leave residents, visitors and businesses frustrated and worried about the future of their neighborhoods.

These challenges cannot wait until Staten Island's waterfront transformation is complete. City officials and stakeholders should be focused on transit and infrastructure improvement plans that will smoothly connect the new developments and seamlessly integrate them into both the borough and city as a whole.

The distinctive projects planned for St. George show that Staten Island's future is bright. ULI New York was proud to sponsor the June 25 forum to give voice to the impact of development and grateful to all the principals who attended and gave us their candid views. We look forward to seeing these plans move toward fruition. The challenge for the borough, for the city and for the developers will be to ensure that Staten Island's growth benefits everyone.