Developer accused of trying to sidestep city review of Staten Island retail complex

The developer of a Staten Island retail complex is trying to duck a state rule that would require the project’s new streets to be placed on the city map, Borough President James Oddo claims.

Developer Melohn Properties is adding new roads as part of its Riverside Galleria project, a 470,000-square-foot plaza proposed on Arthur Kill Road. The new roads are meant to help relieve traffic on Arthur Kill, but Melohn has filed for an exemption from a rule that would require the roads to be placed on the city map, DNAinfo reported. Melohn has referred to the two thoroughfares as a “driveway.”

“Those of us who have been open to the project, those of us who have supportive this project from day one have said our major concerns are traffic,” Oddo said in a Facebook Live video Monday. “The road that was featured as one of the relief valves for Arthur Kill Road is now in fact a driveway.”

Developers can apply for exemptions to General City Law 36 if they can show hardship or other difficulties, but Oddo said the exemption is granted too often on Staten Island. The borough president has fought similar applications, including one filed for the Mount Manresa project.

If Melohn Properties isn’t granted a waiver, its project will have to go through the city’s land-use review process. [DNAinfo] — Kathryn Brenzel