An Economic Snapshot Of Staten Island 7 29 09

An Economic Snapshot of Staten Island Thomas P. DiNapoli

Kenneth B. Bleiwas

New York State Comptroller

Deputy Comptroller

Report 8-2010

• Staten Island has gained jobs and increased population at impressive rates since 2000. • The unemployment rate (7.2 percent), while rising in the recession, is still relatively low. • The per capita income of Staten Island’s residents is higher than the other boroughs, with the exception of Manhattan. • Only 6.9 percent of Staten Island residents have incomes below the poverty level—the lowest poverty rate in the City. • More than two-thirds of Staten Island households own their own homes—twice the citywide rate. • One out of every 356 housing units on Staten Island was in foreclosure in the first quarter of 2009, the fourth-highest rate in New York. • Per capita crime levels have declined sharply over the past 20 years. • The former Fresh Kills landfill is being transformed into a 2,200-acre park, including the possible construction of a wind farm. • The City Council recently adopted a zoning amendment to reduce traffic congestion around shopping areas on Staten Island. • Construction has begun on the Staten Island Terminal, which will reduce truck traffic and be the largest deep-water cement and aggregate terminal in the State.

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Office of the State Comptroller

Figure 1

Total Employment in Staten Island

2003

• The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation is promoting the development of the West Shore Light Rail.

Between 2002 and 2008 (the latest year for which county data are available), total employment in Staten Island rose by 6.1 percent, or more than 5,300 jobs, to reach a record 93,590 jobs (see Figure 1). Job growth was particularly strong in 2007 but then slowed sharply in 2008.

2002

• The U.S. Coast Guard is currently soliciting public comment on its draft environmental impact statement for a proposal to replace the Goethals Bridge.

Employment

2001

• The renovated New York Container Terminal handles 425,000 containers annually.

While the current recession has slowed job growth and has pushed up the unemployment rate, the rate remains relatively low. Quality of life issues— such as traffic congestion, overdevelopment, and health care—remain major concerns of Staten Island residents and the focus of both public and private sector initiatives.

2000

• Visy Pulp & Paper, which was the largest manufacturing investment in the City in 50 years when it opened in 1996, is expanding.

Staten Island is the most suburban of New York City’s five boroughs. The housing market is dominated by single-family homes; parks and open spaces are plentiful; and the crime rate is low. Over the past decade, the borough has made impressive population and employment gains.

Thousands of Jobs

Highlights

August 2009

Sources: NYS Department of Labor; OSC analysis

More than 30 percent of Staten Island’s jobs are now concentrated in the education and health services sector. The second-largest employment sector is trade, transportation, and utilities, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the borough’s total jobs. Both these sectors added jobs in 2008, offsetting job losses in manufacturing,

construction, finance, and business services. Overall, more than 85 percent of the jobs added since 2002 have been in these two sectors. The largest private sector employers in Staten Island are in health care and education. Staten Island University Hospital, Richmond University Medical Center (formerly St. Vincent’s Hospital) and Wagner College each employ more than 1000 people. Staten Island’s port facilities are another major employer.

Unemployment The unemployment rate increased from 4.4 percent in 2007 to 5 percent in 2008. Although the average unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent during the first half of 2009, Staten Island has had the lowest unemployment rate among New York City’s boroughs and was more than a full percentage point lower than the citywide average (8.3 percent).

Wages Total wages reached $3.8 billion in 2008, onethird higher than the 2002 level. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector and the education and health services sector accounted for more than half of Staten Island’s total wages and 60 percent of wage growth since 2002. The average salary for all industries reached $40,370 in 2008, with the highest average salaries in information ($93,930) and construction ($59,015).

Housing According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 68 percent of Staten Island households in 2008 owned their own homes—the highest of all of the boroughs, and twice the citywide rate of 32.9 percent. Median home sales prices rose early in the decade, peaking at $423,300 in 2006. Sales prices have dropped by 10 percent over the past two years, however, with most of the decline occurring in the past year. In the first quarter of 2009 a total of 500 foreclosures were filed in Staten Island—a 51 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2008. This amounted to one foreclosure for every 356 housing units, which was the fourth-highest foreclosure rate among all counties in the State.

Population Although it is the least populated of New York City’s five boroughs, Staten Island’s population has grown faster than the other four boroughs since 1960. In 2008, the population reached 487,407 residents. This represents an increase of 9.4 percent since 2000—more than twice the citywide rate of growth during this period (3.7 percent). Nearly half of Staten Island’s employed residents (45 percent) worked in the borough in 2007. About 28 percent of residents commuted to Manhattan, 14 percent commuted to Brooklyn, and more than 7 percent commuted to New Jersey.

Economic Development More than $160 million has been invested over the past decade to revitalize the St. George neighborhood. The Staten Island Ferry Terminal and the St. George’s Theater have been renovated, and new construction includes the Staten Island Yankees’ ballpark, the September 11th memorial, and a waterfront esplanade. Future developments include a new $40 million courthouse (currently under construction); a new town plaza along Hyatt Street; 1,000 units of new housing; and the redevelopment of the former Coast Guard base for housing, shops, restaurants, and the National Lighthouse Museum. The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation is promoting the development of the West Shore Light Rail (WSLR). This system would extend New Jersey Transit’s HudsonBergen light rail system over the Bayonne Bridge and into western and southern portions of Staten Island, and connect to the Staten Island Railway at the Richmond Valley Station. The WSLR would ease congestion and shorten commutes. In response to ongoing health care concerns, Staten Island University Hospital has built a new 40,000-square-foot emergency room and trauma center. The $39 million state-of-the-art emergency room more than triples the size of the hospital’s current emergency room. The new facility has a pediatric care center, an urgent care center, decontamination and isolation rooms, a radiology center, a laboratory, a CAT scan and ultrasound equipment laboratory, and 56 private rooms.

Office of the State Comptroller, New York City Public Information Office 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (212) 681-4840