James Oddo

Last June, CBS 2 reporter Elise Finch ran a story asking New Yorkers if Staten Island is turning into the “new Brooklyn” and shedding its reputation of being the “forgotten borough?”

Staten Island’s North Shore will be transformed once the $2-billion St. George Waterfront Redevelopment Project is complete in 2018. Millions of people are expected to visit the new attractions, especially the Empire Outlets and the New York Wheel.

Staten Island has had a lot of development happening lately, with the development of the New York Wheel, the Empire Outlet Mall, and the Outlet Mall’s 190 room Hotel, there is a lot going on. Did we mention that the Outlet mall is expected to open its doors in 2016?

Today, we give you a series of interviews , originally uploaded to the official New York Wheel YouTube account, from some key players to the completion of the project, as well as in the north shore community.

taten Island is overrun by deer. They’re in the food court at the mall, clogging up the expressway with their SUVs, and taking up all of the parking spots at Denino’s… okay it’s not that bad, but the animals can be dangerous and there certainly has been an increase in the island’s deer population within the last 15 years.

The office of the Borough President announced that the 2015 Sunset Concert series earlier this summer. If you haven’t made it out to any of the shows yet, there are still a handful for you to attend. The next concert on the schedule takes place in Historic Richmondtown in July 30th, features “AIRTITE” and begins at 7pm.

Ground was broken yesterday on the highly anticipated Empire Outlets, planned for Saint George. This celebration was attended by local politicians and SI luminaries, and hosted at Richmond County Ballpark.

That ferry may not carry many people who live in other parts of the city, but it is very popular with tourists, who take advantage of its free fare to get a close-up look at the Statue of Liberty. At the request of the Staten Island borough president, James Oddo, the city’s Independent Budget Office produced a study last month of the feasibility of charging out-of-towners to ride the ferry.