Staten Island’s North Shore: Interview About Walking Tour – Advocating For Climate Resilience, Community Needs In Proposed Redevelopment Of Shoreline

Staten Islander News met with Furhana Husani, Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives at Waterfront Alliance; Kathy Park Price, Director of Advocacy and Policy New Yorkers for Parks; and Kelly Vilar, Founder & CEO. Staten Island Urban Center

We discussed a variety of topics related to the North Shore and what the community is looking for in their neighborhood. Several ideas were shared, including increased access to the water, not just the waterfront, increased access to public space, and more wild or at least not-manmade playgrounds and parks for kids. Many kids in this urban area have never played in a playground that was a natural area, particularly in the lower income sections of Staten Island.

The failed ferris wheel and outlet mall was discussed, including the ways in which the space could be transformed for the benefit of the community. For example, turning the footprint of concrete into a real pool with lessons for local children; a hydroponic farm; or a MERC (Maritime Education and Recreation Center). There aren’t enough swim lessons for the residents who need them, and most of the people who work on the water are not from this area. They are usually coming in from other places where they were trained due to the presence of specialized facilities.

With the failed outlet mall, there is a major opportunity to create something the community does want instead of insisting on something that the community had no need for and Islanders weren’t going to commute to and pay for parking from other parts of the island. Such an idea was unrealistic from the start.

However, the most important thing they kept stressing is that the people that live there should have a larger voice in the projects they’ll have to live with. And the local families should know about the amenities they already have access to, such as the small park at Urby, Stapleton Waterfront Park, the FerryHawks ballfield, Alice Austen House, National Lighthouse Museum, and other places that offer greenspaces, free events, kids programming, and more (all of those mentioned in this paragraph offer such programs or access).

Public awareness campaigns for what’s already available, along with meaningful ways to encourage participation by local residents are important going forward. Then the residents will know what’s available and, most importantly, they’ll use those services and programs, which causes there to be more of them.

We look forward to their future updates.

• Charge the First Deputy Mayor with meaningfully reducing red tape!
• Follow through on the Capital Process Task Force’s recommendations to adopt new project delivery tools for faster and more cost-effective construction.
• Ensure that other entities with oversight over the capital process, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), and Office of the NYC Comptroller speed projects up rather than slowing them down.
• Invest in third party solutions for bathrooms and other amenities to ensure quick roll out.
• Streamline partner agreements and reduce insurance requirements for volunteers, not for profit partners and conservancies to make it easier to steward parks.
• Make it EASY to obtain permits for programming and events in parks

Below are brief bios of the three individual advocates that we met with, along with the questions we discussed.

Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives at Waterfront Alliance

Furhana Husani is currently the director of programs and climate initiatives at Waterfront Alliance and has program and operational responsibility for climate resilience, environmental education, recreation, urban planning, conservation, sustainability, port/maritime industry and integrated related program areas of the Waterfront Alliance. Prior to Waterfront Alliance, Furhana served on the leadership strategy team of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation’s (WCAPS) Climate Change Working Group and worked in the Aga Khan Council for USA leading the adolescent and young adult portfolio. She currently serves as the Co-Chair for WCAPS Climate Change Working Group, sits on the Green Marine’s North Atlantic Advisory Committee, and is a member of Climigration’s “Policy and Law” and “Learning, Programming and Events” workgroups.

Furhana comes to Waterfront Alliance with 14 years in non-profit management, focusing on designing, developing and leading portfolios supporting community and adolescent development in minority and marginalized communities. In addition, Furhana has 10+ years of academic and professional experience as an engineer and consultant in the areas of electricity generation, renewable energy policy and markets, energy poverty and climate change.

Furhana has two beautiful children and would like to see them grow up in a more just and equitable world.

Director of Advocacy and Policy New Yorkers for Parks

Kathy Park Price leads NY4P’s advocacy and policy work to protect and expand New York City’s essential open spaces—from neighborhood parks and playgrounds to greenways and Open Streets. A seasoned advocate for livable, sustainable cities, she has deep experience in grassroots organizing, coalition-building, and policy strategy. Kathy is committed to a vision of public space that supports climate resilience, equity, community connection, and joy. Prior to joining NY4P, she served as the Brooklyn Organizer at Transportation Alternatives, where she led local efforts to reclaim streets for people and supported citywide campaigns advancing safer, more accessible, and people-centered public spaces.

Founder & CEO. Staten Island Urban Center

Kelly Vilar is the founder and CEO of the SI Urban Center. She has invested her life’s work in helping people to hope, dream and take action in their lives. She has always been passionate about helping others to be socially and economically conscious, and to be activists in their own lives–thus living and sharing her mantra –community development through community involvement. Kelly has been active on Staten Island as a member of Community Board No. 1 chairing the Youth Committee and helping to move forward an agenda for north shore youth to include finding new funds for programs such as the first YouthBuild Staten Island program ever in the borough.

In 2015 Kelly founded the Let’s Rebuild Cromwell Community Coalition dedicated to raising the community voice on youth recreation needs and common sense community development for the north shore of Staten Island. She helped to lead the community in authoring a community driven plan for development called MERC -The Maritime Education, Recreation & Cultural corridor of the north shore. In 2020, Kelly produced Our Urban Town: Reimagining Staten Island’s Waterfront Community, a short documentary chronicling the plight and hope for development on the waterfront. Kelly is also a member of the NYC Waterfront Management Advisory Board.

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Kelly is Vice Chair of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, a multidisciplinary center for global afro-descendent culture integrating arts, education, and social activism.

For more than 20 years Kelly’s professional work has been in the financial field teaching economic empowerment. She holds a Masters Degree in Science-Urban Policy & Planning from the New School For Social Research.

What locations are your organizations advocating for presently? Is there a specific boundary for the area or is it all of the north shore?

Are there any specific plans that the organizers are looking to have implemented?

What have residents expressed as the greatest need regarding this project?

What barriers do residents face to having their voices heard and respected?

Where have previous developments along the waterfront and elsewhere in the community failed or succeeded as far as what the community needs and wants?

Have they met with, or are they meeting with, the developers? Are the developers open to the changes they are requesting? Have they met with elected officials to help them with these issues?

Does the North Shore presently have any undeveloped land that residents are looking to keep as it is, possibly turning it into a protected park?

What would your organization define as a success regarding this development, or for others planned for the future or for the entire area, for the residents of the area if implemented?

New Yorkers for Parks  (NY4P) and the Play Fair Coalition  hosted a public guided walking tour of Staten Island’s North Shore in partnership with the Staten Island Urban Center  (SIUC), local elected officials and a coalition of partners including St. George Civic Association, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Staten Island, Bay Street & Beyond, NYC Greenways Coalition, Waterfront Alliance and New York League of Conservation Voters. On the tour, advocates, local leaders and community members will discuss concerns with the status of current redevelopment proposals and opportunities to improve waterfront access, strengthen parks and open spaces, expand maritime recreation opportunities, and build a more resilient and connected shoreline.

As NYCEDC’s $400 million North Shore Action Plan investment toward 2,400 new homes and more than 20 acres of public open space promises revitalization for this critical stretch of harbor waterfront, advocates have raised questions about the realization of a community-centered vision. Following NYCEDC’s announcement last fall of additional proposed new open space and housing at Empire Outlets and the former New York Wheel site, SIUC issued a critical assessment of the agency’s plans, Rethinking the North Shore: Climate Risks| Community , which will in part provide a basis for on-site discussions. Among the primary concerns is lack of sustainability planning, such as siting new housing in flood-risk zones, and prioritizing private commercial development at the expense of better activating the waterfront and a local blue and green economy for Staten Islanders.

The “North Shore Waterfront Walk & Talk,” part of a five-borough series  hosted by New Yorkers for Parks in partnership with local leaders and advocates, will highlight key sites and projects including Esplanade Park, Mary Cali Dalton Recreation Center, and Tompkinsville Park. Previous events have taken place in Long Island City, the South Bronx, Fort Greene and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and Central Harlem.

 Sat, June 27, 2026, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
(Remarks at approximately 11:15 AM)

Staten Island Borough Hall

 (Richmond Terrace & Bay Street, across from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal)

Guided tour stops include:

Put on by:

About New Yorkers for Parks
New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) is the citywide independent organization championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods. For over a century, NY4P has led the movement to protect, invest in, and celebrate New York City’s parks.

The Staten Island Urban Center’s (SIUC) strengthens the urban environment of Staten Island neighborhoods by way of youth and community development through youth and community involvement. It inspires and educates multi-generational and multiethnic stakeholders to build healthy neighborhoods and elevate community voices through activism and art.

Play Fair for Parks is an advocacy campaign and 400+ member coalition calling for #1Percent4Parks and elevating parks issues citywide. New Yorkers for Parks co-founded Play Fair along with the New York League of Conservation Voters and District Council 37, the NYC Parks workers’ union.