Senator Lanza announced that he has secured a commitment from the Department of City Planning to have his Rossville rezoning application reviewed for certification at the September 21st meeting of this year. This announcement comes after a year-long process in which Senator Lanza authored the application and submitted it in partnership with the Civic Association of the Sandy Ground Area (CASA) (Nick Polly) who is the co-applicant. Senator Lanza has worked with the Bloomberg Administration, CASA, the Staten Island Taxpayer’s Association( Dee Vandenberg), City Planning, and scores of Residents to bring this rezoning forward in order to protect this Staten Island Community from out of character and overly dense development.
In July of 2008, when an out of town developer began moving forward with a 119-unit, four story apartment building on a Rossville street characterized by low rise single and two family dwellings, Senator Lanza immediately took action to eliminate the continued threat of out of character development in the area. Many residents and congregants of the Church owning the property were shocked to learn that the law would allow for this type of structure in the neighborhood and sought assistance from Senator Lanza. Senator Lanza said, "The proposed project revealed that the existing zoning in the area, if exploited, would allow for overly dense development which would be harmful to the quality of life in the community." Senator Lanza added that "the project itself was misguided in that it proposed a dense apartment building, ostensibly for Seniors, in an area with dangerously narrow streets, without public transportation, and lacking adequate access to community amenities like pharmacies and shopping - in effect "stranding" potential buyers." The problem is that the zone which has been on the books for decades could have led to a disaster for this community. Lanza said that "the first step and really the only real way to protect Staten Island neighborhoods from over development and to allow for properly planned and in-character development is by establishing the proper zoning laws - which is what this application would accomplish." This is the latest of a number of new zoning regulations advanced by Lanza. "Rather than talk about the problem of overcrowding from overdevelopment, I've aggressively worked to author and pass many comprehensive rezoning laws to protect towns and neighborhoods across Staten Island," said Lanza.
Senator Lanza has been an out spoken advocate against overdevelopment since being elected to the City Council in 2001. He continues to advance zoning law improvements in order prevent the type of poorly planned development which has led to increased traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and diminished quality of life on Staten Island.
On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, The Civic Association of the Sandy Ground Area and Senator Lanza will hold a public meeting to discuss the rezoning application. The meeting will be held at the Knights of Columbus Stolzenthaler Council, 100 Kreischer Street, off Arthur Kill Road, at 7pm.
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