Will Staten Island Run With a Nascar Raceway?

Gentlemen, start your engines! But not in my back yard, some Staten Islanders are saying. When the idea of Nascar racing in New York City was first floated several years ago, it did not have much support because the site selected for the racetrack was the former navy base in Stapleton. Community activists rejected the proposal, saying they preferred putting several different things on the prime waterfront property. The raceway was one of many designs for the site that were rejected before Stapleton Studios' proposal won the unanimous approval of the community. Unfortunately, the city and the Economic Development Corporation are putting the kibosh on that wonderful proposal. Now, the site chosen for Nascar is at the other end of the Island on a former oil tank farm in the Bloomfield community. The Chicago-based GATX Corporation is considering selling land along the West Shore Expressway to International Speedway Corporation for $100 million. This time the idea of the fastest-growing spectator sport coming to New York City may not be so far-fetched. The borough president, James Molinaro, met last month with the president of International Speedway, Lesa France Kennedy, to discuss bringing an oval-banked Nascar track to what is now a mostly industrial area. "Something of this size that drives the economy the way it does has to be looked at seriously and that is what I plan to do," he told local reporters. But Assemblyman Robert Straniere released a statement expressing concern about the impact a raceway would have on adjacent wetlands, which he noted represents one of the largest habitats for water birds in the Northeast. Shhh! Don't tell PETA. Another person taking a cynical viewpoint of the proposal is Vincent Pompa, who told a Staten Island Advance reporter: "Who would want that noise in their backyards? I know I wouldn't. I think that land could be used for other things more important than racetracks." One of the biggest obstacles is the issue of traffic. This borough is the fastest-growing county in the state and can no longer be called the most bucolic in New York City. Overdevelopment and the resultant traffic jams are creating demands for more zoning restrictions that may prove problematic for the potential raceway developers. Another thing to consider is this. We are on an island. Transportation here is via bridges, which are always undergoing repair, and by boats. The idea of 80,000 people flooding onto our highways is a situation that needs to be evaluated, and Council Member James Oddo, whose district includes the GATX site, said he's anxious to discuss the proposal with Nascar executives. Council Member Andrew Lanza told the Advance that it would be the prudent thing to ask the right questions and do the research. I suspect both council members are secretly jumping for joy because this has got to be the most exciting thing to happen to the South Shore. NIMBY may have been an appropriate response to the North Shore homeport proposal because the area is fully developed with housing and local businesses, but the new proposal is for an area that could use economic development. Nascar racing would act as a catalyst for development that would finally lose Staten Island its "forgotten borough" identity. I rather enjoyed living in a community that hadn't been discovered by tourists and speculators but I've always known that sooner or later, all that the Island has to offer would be discovered. If Nascar does make its way here, that day will come sooner than I'd like. Nevertheless, I know very little about this spectator sport except that fans are highly enthusiastic and come from every walk of life. Richard Nicotra, a Staten Island developer whose Hilton Garden Inn is located in nearby Corporate Park, is naturally positive about the racing coming to his community, but he also dispels the stereotype of the racing fan. He spoke to an Advance reporter and said, "These are educated, pretty wealthy people who watch the sport...I think we have to listen. I don't know that we are going to get another opportunity like this." I spoke with Roger Fife, owner of Ramjet Inc. and a collectible art consultant, because he had been in Charlotte, N.C., last week on Nascar business and could perhaps give me his perspective on whether Staten Island should consider this proposal seriously. I mentioned my concern about traffic, and he made a point that put the subject in perspective. "It's only one time a year," he said. "One Nascar town grossed $91 million for just that one weekend." Imagine what it would do for New York City. Nascar officials recently signed Magic Johnson as a spokesman for the racing corporation. The five-time NBA title winner with the L.A. Lakers, and an Olympic gold medal winner, has agreed to become the new cochairman of Nascar's Steering Committee for Diversity. He will advise and assist in marketing strategies to promote the sport to minorities. If Nascar is looking to diversify the sport, then what city represents the great melting pot of America better than New York City? Incidentally, good luck with the EDC.