Updating Staten Islanders On Efforts To Curb Proliferation Of BESS Sites: Local Politicians, Community Groups Making State-Level Efforts

BP Vito Fossella

4 months ago

Updating Staten Islanders On Efforts To Curb Proliferation Of BESS Sites: Local Politicians, Community Groups Making State-Level Efforts

Editor’s note: Readers may remember Borough President Fossella warning about the dangers of these operations when there was the recent fire of a BESS system in Warwick, NY. There have been many others, and these projects are receiving a lot of push-back from local communities. Assemblymember Pirozzolo had recently announced the withdrawal of another planned BESS site, but this one was for the community of Travis. While the danger of fires that can’t easily be put out are a concern, they also release toxic fumes into the air and into the water table when they are put out with water. These chemicals can be very damaging for the environment.

BP Fossella, Senator Scarcella-Spanton, Assemblyman Fall to Deliver Update on Efforts to Curb Development of BESS Storage System Proliferation

Staten Island, NY – Borough President Vito Fossella, State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblyman Charles Fall made a major bipartisan announcement on a State-level effort to combat the siting of BESS units in residential areas at a press conference at 2166 Forest Avenue on Thursday, January 22nd at 1:30 PM.

BP Fossella has long been a vocal opponent of the mass siting of dangerous lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS) in residential neighborhoods on Staten Island. This proliferation was made possible by the “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality” legislation, which effectively rewrote the New York City Zoning Resolution to reclassify these dangerous facilities from manufacturing zoning to residential zoning.

Since the proposal was signed into law in December 2023, a large share of all BESS units in the City have been proposed or sited on Staten Island. Furthermore, even after the implementation of the City of Yes, fires have continued to ignite in BESS facilities across the country, and close to home, including at a BESS station in Warwick, NY which just last month caught fire for the second time in over two years.

At the press conference, the Borough President will be joined by State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblyman Charles Fall to announce a new collaborative approach to limiting the siting of BESS systems, on Staten Island and elsewhere across the State, in the interest of keeping our residents safe from these dangerously volatile and unproven facilities.

Banner Image: Senator Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblymembers at a press conference. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton

BP Vito Fossella

The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government. The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities. In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough. As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses. The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.