EDC allowing historic buildings to fall apart

From the Daily News:

A set of stunning 140-year-old buildings in an up-and-coming corner of Staten Island has been neglected so long that the interiors are rotting and foliage is growing from the inside out.

Big plans for the 3-acre Lighthouse Harbor Site in St. George have gone unrealized for more than a decade, despite millions in city funds spent to keep the buildings intact.

Two of the buildings, including one protected by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, were selected by the federal government in 1997 to house the National Lighthouse Museum, but preservation groups have failed so farto secure enough funding and get the museum up and running.

Triangle Equities, a Queens-based real estate firm, was selected in 2007 to develop the remaining three buildings. The firm announced plans to transform them into a massive mall with shops and restaurants, but the project has gone nowhere.

"The city is invested in this site. We've done a lot to put a plan in place that will make it a great Staten Island destination," said Julie Wood, spokeswoman for the city's Economic Development Corp., which owns the buildings.

Wood said the EDC has spent $6.5 million to keep the buildings structurally sound.

If the EDC is involved, you know it won't go well.

Lighthouse museum goes bust

From the SI Live:

It’s official: The National Lighthouse Museum’s board has formally disbanded, essentially sinking the cash-strapped 11-year-old project here.

In a statement released today, the board said its long-anticipated decision was based on "dwindling prospects" the project could advance at its St. George location.

The 10-acre site abuts the St. George Ferry Terminal and was the 19th century home of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, a precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Once viewed as a linchpin in a multimillion-dollar harbor enclave designed to rejuvenate St. George and attract tourists, the project was to feature the museum, housing, shops and restaurants.

The board cited the current economic downturn, the dramatic post-9/11 change in the funding climate and difficulties in finalizing plans and development agreements with government agencies as reasons for its dissolution.

The board also failed to raise the $15 million needed to open the museum’s doors.

A national steering committee awarded Staten Island the museum project in 1998 after then-Gov. George Pataki, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Borough President Guy V. Molinari put up a combined $5.5 million in public money.

The city Economic Development Corporation has already spent $8 million to stabilize two other buildings — former lamp and machine shops — at the site and Borough Hall has allocated millions of dollars.

The EDC is batting 1000% lately. Willets Point will be the next great failure.

A nice place to visit, but...

From Newsday:

It might not look like much now, but a nonprofit group hopes the Execution Rocks Lighthouse will draw a steady stream of visitors and overnight B&B guests when it's transformed into a tourist beacon with sweeping views of Long Island Sound.

"It needs a little bit of work," said Craig Morrison, president of Historically Significant Structures Inc., a Philadelphia preservation group that in January received the deed to the 1850 structure from the federal government. Walking past a section of deteriorating plaster wall on the first public visit to the site a mile off Sands Point, he added, "We got it just in time."

"A little bit of work" translates to a restoration project estimated to cost more than $1.2 million and least more than five years. When it's done, Execution Rocks would be the first Long Island lighthouse to allow regularly scheduled overnight stays.