A Staten Island man has purchased a lighthouse off Sandy Hook, N.J. for $90,000 because, he said, it may have been the first thing his immigrant grandparents saw when coming upon Ellis Island, Crain’s reported.

John Scalia, who bought the lighthouse at an auction from the U.S. General Services Administration, will allow the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island to give tours of property. He may even invest $80,000 more of his own funds to renovate the lighthouse and make necessary repairs.

“I’ve been very lucky in my life,” Scalia said. “This is a way for me to give back to the community, to the country.” [more]

180 Burgher Avenue

The Muslim American Chapter for Brooklyn and Staten Island has quietly opened a mosque in the Dongan Hills neighborhood of Staten Island, without the controversial uproar that accompanied the same group’s plan to open a mosque in a former Catholic convent in Staten Island’s Midland Beach, the New York Times reported. Last year, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York ended up rejecting the sale, even though the parish’s priest had originally approved it. This year, at a July 29 open house, neighbors joined local government officials at the building at 180 Burgher Avenue. The largest concern for most residents seems to be parking, and neighbors say that the mosque’s members have been responsive to those issues. [more]

The city is issuing a request for expressions of interest, or RFEI,  as
it seeks to redevelop two parcels of land on Staten Island’s St.
George waterfront, according to a statement released by the city
today.

The two sites, located close to the St. George Ferry Terminal, are
currently used as parking for the Richmond County Bank Ballpark and
the St. George Ferry Terminal. Combined, the two sites will provide
more than 14 acres of waterfront development, with the site
to the north of the ballpark totaling approximately 7.4 acres and the
site to the south approximately 6.7 acres. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

From the 2011 Data Book: Check out a complete analysis of the outer borough retail market from The Real Deal’s 2011 Data book. Click here or on the link at the top of the site to purchase a copy. TRD

Data Book 2011 EditPages P1-P118 90 [more]

Staten Island has grown faster than any other borough over the last two decades, making 24 percent and 26 percent gains, respectively, in population and new homes, according to a new report by Center for an Urban Future cited by the Wall Street Journal. But as the island saturates and housing costs rise, many residents are finding the borough to be different from the one that was known to be a haven for first-time homebuyers just 20 years ago. Almost half of all Staten Islanders spend at least 35 percent of their income on housing, compared with just 30 percent of residents 20 years ago. [more]

NycArtsCypher painting the construction fence at Clove Lakes Park

The construction site for the Club at Clove Lakes Park, a boutique condominium in Staten Island marketed for active adults over 55, received a youth infusion this weekend. Developers Leewood Real Estate Group teamed with NycArtsCypher, a non-profit organization that encourages urban teenagers to embrace the arts, to allow teenagers to make the construction fence into a graffiti mural. The design was developed by young people in the NycArtsCypher program, professional artists and the condo’s marketers. TRD [more]

Barbara Corcoran popped over to Staten Island for a tour of what is arguably the borough’s most famous home in a “Today” show segment this morning. The $2.9 million mansion, which hit the market last month, was used as the residence belonging to the Corleone family in “The Godfather” films, but belongs to the Norton family in reality. They’re offering up relics from the movies “for the right price,” they told the Corcoran Group founder-turned-television personality.

A 72-year-old pier on Staten Island in Tompkinsville collapsed Wednesday, amid an ongoing renovation project, according to the New York Times. The pier, which held a community center, has been vacant since April, when the renovations began. No one was inside the structure at the time of the collapse and no injuries have been reported. In light of its collapse, city officials now say the pier will be demolished, not refurbished. See the video Staten Island Advance via the New York Times above to review the structure’s unforeseen breakdown.

[more]

Three non-profit organizations have signed full-floor leases at 147 West 24th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, according to landlord the Moinian Group. Meanwhile, the city began a $266 million remediation project on a Staten Island landfill today, and a Riverdale, N.J. shopping center welcomed Best Buy as a new tenant. Click here for more. TRD [more]

While the 421b tax abatement program likely had little impact on many Manhattan residential developers, Staten Island is still going through withdrawal in its absence, four years after the program ended, according to Crain’s. The 421b program, which helped those buying single-family homes, much like the 421a program that helps condo and co-op buyers, had spurred new construction of homes there, according to a report from the Building Industry Association of New York City, and its absence has taken a toll. “The elimination of the tax abatement program curtails development of housing,” Thomas Conoscenti, the author of the report, said.