Staten Island doesn’t get a lot of love in Democratic primary elections â€" the borough is small, and its population is relatively conservative. But on Monday night, five Democrats running for mayor made their way to the College of Staten Island for a forum at which each pledged to help the island if elected, offering to do everything from lowering the toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to using a proposed giant Ferris wheel to attract tourists.
William C. Thompson, Jr., a former comptroller who grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in Manhattan, noted that Staten Islanders had often felt that theirs was “the forgotten borough.†But he vowed that Staten Island “won’t be forgotten under a Thompson administration.†He said he would reduce the $15 toll on the Verrazano (it’s $15 now, and set to go up to $20 in 2017) and offset the cost by reinstating a commuter tax and increasing automobile registration fees for heavy vehicles. Mr. Thompson also said he would create a new position, a deputy mayor of infrastructure, to oversee rebuilding areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and a Manhattan resident, said that rebuilding in response to the hurricane would be her first priority. She said that homeowners in areas of Staten Island hit by the storm should be eligible to sell their homes to the city or state if they don’t want to return to them, and also proposed burying power lines. And she said that she would spur the island’s economy by creating a regional council charged with expanding New York City’s volume of exports and guiding the new export business to Staten Island’s waterfront.
John C. Liu, the city’s current comptroller and a Queens resident, promised to build a public hospital on the island, which currently doesn’t have one. He also said he would expand express bus service on the island, and move forward with a proposed light rail project on the west shore that would connect it with New Jersey’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system. To prepare for future major storms, Mr. Liu said that the city should consider constructing sea walls in the harbor to protect Staten Island. He also said that should he become mayor, he would visit Staten Island so much “you’ll think that I’m living here.â€
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate and a Brooklyn resident, also expressed concern about the island’s lack of a public hospital, but said that the best solution might be for the city to provide support to the island’s private hospitals to encourage them to expand services. He expressed cautious support for a proposal to build the world’s largest Ferris wheel near the St. George Ferry Terminal, saying that it could spark tourism. He also proposed reviving a plan for a rail line along the island’s north shore, to connect parts of the north shore to the ferry terminal.
And Sal F. Albanese, a former councilman from Brooklyn, also promised to address the toll on the Verrazano Bridge, which he likened to “being mugged without a gun.†He personalized the toll issue with a slightly shaggy dog-like story about buying an elliptical machine at Dick’s Sporting Goods on the island, and learning that the store was unable to deliver it to his Bay Ridge home on the appointed day; its truck had already made one trip to Brooklyn, and couldn’t afford to pay the cost of the toll again.
