Staten Island could be entering one of the most pivotal years in its history.

There are big changes coming to the borough, changes that could render the Staten Island we know and love unrecognizable in the coming years.

Here are four big factors that are lining up to make things on Staten Island worse in 2026.

Have you noticed all the green construction fences going up around Staten Island? Have you seen the old homes and businesses being demolished behind them?

Get used to it.

An orgy of development could be in the offing for the borough, all made possible by builder-friendly City of Yes laws.

Staten Island could become home to more development – including high-rise apartment buildings – than we’ve ever seen here before. The very character of the borough hangs in the balance.

Yes, this could work out well for those who are looking for affordable housing, particularly just-marrieds and those with young families. After all, increasing the city’s stock of affordable was the whole justification for City of Yes in the first place.

Or it could lead to the building of even more overpriced and undersized “luxury” apartments and million-dollar McMansions that everyday people here, even those in two-income........

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