Thousands of Staten Island workers and shoppers would be displaced if a plan to stop bus routes to the Staten Island Mall is approved, amNewYork Metro has learned.
Staten Island Assembly Member Sam Pirozzolo said that the mall’s owner, Brookfield Properties, wants to cut the bus stops along the property’s private road by April 1.
The reason for cuts in service is to save $1.5 million in road maintenance costs “at the expense of Staten Islanders,” thousands of whom use the bus routes every day to go shopping or work inside the New Springville-based mall, Pirozzolo said
Pirozzolo said he has been in talks with both the MTA, which manages the buses, and Brookfield Properties, about solutions for the issue.
The routes affected would be the S44, S59, S94, and S79 on Ring Road, a street that runs around the mall’s property. The Staten Island Mall is one of the largest transportation hubs with bus routes on Staten Island.
Currently, the plan is to relocate the Ring Road bus stops to Richmond Avenue, one of the borough’s widest and busiest thoroughfares, with segments of six lanes of traffic. The street also includes cumbersome turning lanes where vehicles access the various shopping plazas that line it.
Relocating the stops to ‘the worst place’
Relocating the bus stops would force commuters to not only cross the traffic-laden Richmond Avenue, but navigate through a sprawling, often-congestion parking lot.
“The worst place you can think of to put those bus stops is Richmond Avenue,” Pirozzolo said.
Although Brookfield Properties did not respond to an amNew York Metro request for comment, the assembly member explained that the MTA, a state-run agency, can not supply Brookfield Properties with funding to upkeep private roads damaged by buses.
“The mall is saying the MTA can’t give them any money for repairs because it’s private property,” Pirozzolo explained.
The change proposed by Brookfield Properties has left many Staten Islanders baffled, leaving some questioning why the mall would want to bring bus riders–potential customers–away from their property.
Buses have been picking up and dropping off riders on the mall’s street for over 50 years.
“Buses have been running on Ring Road since the early 1970s,” MTA spokesperson Eugene Resnick, said. “More than half a century later, we remain committed to providing accessible public transit to the mall for customers that we both share, and we hope Brookfield Properties comes to the same conclusion.”
Pirozzolo said moving the bus routes would especially impact older or disabled New Yorkers who use public transportation to traverse the borough.
“How do you expect someone to get off a bus and cross all of that? Especially if they are an older person, a handicapped person or disabled. And then go back home carrying bags,” he said.
The change is scheduled to take place April 1, but Pirozzolo said the MTA and the mall are in private discussions to find solutions.
“If they can work it out, then work it out,” he said. “But it can’t be Richmond Avenue.”
Staten Island residents are angry and concerned about how the changes would impact their commutes to the mall area.
“People depend on those buses, especially the people from Brooklyn who take the bus over the Verrazzano Bridge,” Staten Island resident, Mary Mattucci, said. “Not everyone on Staten Island has a car.”
Another local transit user said she would not be able to go to the mall anymore if the bus routes change.
“I would not be able to walk the further distance,” Barbara Morrison said. “I think the mall would lose business, especially from older customers.”
Staten Island resident, Ronnie Cutro, said the plan is “ridiculous,” but he is not surprised.
“I normally take the S59 or S79 from Eltingville train station to go to the mall, so yes, this affects me for sure,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brookfield Properties recently uncovered plans to expand commercial space by developing “outparcels” of land surrounding the mall, according to the Staten Island Advance.
These retail spaces would be constructed in the property’s now-existing parking lot, similar to the Krispy Kreme store constructed and opened in 2022.
