Posted on December 17, 2024
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Another year is nearly gone, but Arthur Kill Terminal is leagues ahead of where they started 2024.
The terminal, which will be constructed with union labor in the early months of 2025, has been in the works for several years.
In 2024, the project — run by Atlantic Offshore Terminals — got Mayor Eric Adams’ stamp of approval to move forward after completing its 18-month-long Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). The City Planning Commission also approved AOT’s environmental impact statement draft.
Here’s everything you need to know about the first Staten Island offshore wind turbine assembly facility.
Where will the terminal be?
The Arthur Kill Terminal will be located, aptly, on Arthur Kill Road in Richmond Valley on the South Shore.
Construction will last 20 to 23 months, putting the terminal’s activation sometime in 2026. Once completed, it will function as a specialized port at the foot of the Outerbridge Crossing where offshore wind turbines and towers could be assembled and staged before being brought out to sea.
750 union jobs coming to the South Shore
Pictured is a rendering of the Arthur Kill Terminal warehouse. (Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals)Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals
It was revealed on March 27, 2024 that Arthur Kill Terminal agreed to produce 750 union jobs during the terminal’s construction.
According to a written statement, “Arthur Kill Terminal LLC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (NYCBTC) to enter into a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the construction of Arthur Kill Terminal, an offshore wind staging and assembly port and supply chain hub under development in New York City.”
Six hundred of the jobs will be in the construction sector, while another 150 jobs will open in the operations sector.
This isn’t a half-hearted promise, either. “The MOU will ensure that the terminal is built with local union labor,” the written statement said.
Teaming up with College of Staten Island
Hundreds of freshmen moved into the Dolphin Cove at the College of Staten Island, Willowbrook, on Aug. 25, 2019. (Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson) Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson
Arthur Kill Terminal is seeking to “provide a $1 million grant to support CSI’s educational, professional development, and workforce training programming” once it becomes operational in 2026.
This initiative, the statement says, “will create new opportunities for Staten Islanders to secure well-paying, career-track jobs” in this blossoming energy field.
But the students won’t be the only ones taking advantage of these opportunities. While CSI students enjoy mentorship programs and internships, CSI faculty will also have the chance to participate in professional development, the statement said.
“This partnership with the College of Staten Island reflects our commitment to developing a skilled local workforce that will power New York’s clean energy transition, and to creating jobs and opportunities in our community. By significantly investing in education and workforce development, we’re ensuring that Staten Islanders benefit from the economic opportunities emerging from Arthur Kill Terminal and the broader offshore wind industry,” Arthur Kill Terminal CEO Boone Davis said.
More traffic?
Pictured is a 2019 rendering of the Arthur Kill Terminal site. (Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals)Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals
Anyone who knows Arthur Kill Road is aware of the traffic concerns. As is, the area can get congested at times throughout the day, especially in bad weather. That’s why AOT made sure to do “very detailed traffic studies, both for the period during which construction will occur and then during operations,” according to AOT Chief Commercial Officer Charles Dougherty.
“The conclusion of all the traffic experts who have reviewed it is that the impact on traffic will be not of any significance,” he said.
The road will be widened to accommodate the terminal.
That assessment was echoed by Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore). Prior to the proposed Arthur Kill Terminal, the same site was being figured for a shopping mall with a thousand parking spots, according to Borelli. Comparatively, the councilman predicts that traffic will not be impacted with the arrival of the terminal, which he called a “significant improvement.”
Support from elected officials
Pictured is a rendering of the Arthur Kill Terminal AKT Cole House Visitor Center. (Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals)Courtesy of Arthur Kill Terminal/Atlantic Offshore Terminals
Borelli has been an active proponent in the battle to get the Arthur Kill Terminal off the ground. He, along with the City Council and state delegations, previously sent letters to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to voice their support.
Borelli isn’t the only elected official to throw support behind the project. AOT received a letter of support from State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn), Assemblymember Charles Fall (D-North Shore), Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo (R-Mid-Island), Assemblymember Mike Reilly (R-South Shore) and Assemblymember Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn).
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also voiced his approval, helping the terminal receive $48 million in federal funding in 2022. Part of that funding will be used to dredge 740,000 cubic yards to create a basin 35-feet deep to support development at the site, which will contain a 1,365-foot wharf that has enhanced load-bearing capacity. Another chunk of funding will go toward a visitor’s center, which will be developed from a “dilapidated” historical house that is nestled in the corner of the terminal’s property, according to AOT President and CEO Boone Davis.
And if local and state officials weren’t enough, even President Joe Biden shouted out the terminal in a February 2023 visit to New York City.
How the terminal will work
Once the terminal becomes fully operational, Arthur Kill Terminal LLC will lease out the property to tenants. In early March, Dougherty said the company was engaged in “active conversations” with the companies that received awards from the state, including Attentive Energy One.
Attentive Energy One previously announced intentions to use the port as a supply chain investment plant to the state, alongside other developers, in order to encourage construction of the terminal, said Davis.
This location is viable for such a port as it isn’t impeded by aircraft or bridge restrictions. Turbines, especially for offshore wind fields, are massive: pieces can weigh over a thousand tons and can be as long as a football field, according to Davis.
In addition, the port will “also support the use of the full array of vessels that might be used to perform this installation work, so it gives the developers a lot of flexibility in terms of developing the plans for their construction projects, and ultimately should save them a lot of time and money in building their wind farms.”
