New York City is taking another swing at Staten Island’s North Shore, trading failed tourism bets for a full-scale neighborhood buildout.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation and Council member Kamillah Hanks unveiled a sweeping vision to remake Empire Outlets and the former New York Wheel site into a mixed-use district anchored by as many as 2,500 new homes. The vision is a major shift for a waterfront defined more by stalled projects than momentum.
The plan, shaped through months of community workshops with more than 1,000 residents, moves away from the city’s decade-long pursuit of drawing visitors to St. George. Instead, the focus is on housing across income bands, parkland, cultural programming and retail that will serve locals.
According to NYCEDC, Empire Outlets — once marketed as a waterfront retail destination but long plagued by tenant churn and inconsistent foot traffic — would be rezoned alongside the Wheel property to accommodate housing and reinvigorated public space. FXCollaborative renderings show a pedestrian-friendly waterfront stitched together with lawn space, playgrounds and a rebuilt esplanade.
The first step would be ULURP; environmental review is slated for early next year and the formal land-use process would begin later that year. That timeline sets the stage for several more rounds of public input — and plenty of political scrutiny — before shovels hit the ground.
City officials say they’re responding directly to resident demands for reliable public access, youth-oriented programming, community space and better transit links.
A redesigned NYC Ferry route, expected by the end of the year, would connect St. George to Brooklyn and Wall Street. Other ongoing moves include upgrades at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park, progress on Lighthouse Point’s next phase and the Mary Cali Dalton Recreation Center’s debut next year.
The announcement builds on the Adams administration’s North Shore Action Plan, a $400 million initiative launched in 2023 that promised 2,400 homes, 20 acres of open space and thousands of jobs.
For Staten Island, the latest proposal marks the city’s next attempt to reclaim two of its most visible waterfront sites after years of false starts.
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