The Office of Staten Island Borough President
10/29/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Borough President Vito Fossella Proposes Alternative Howland Hook Truck Traffic Configuration to Alleviate Longstanding Congestion Issue
Borough President Vito Fossella announced a proposal to convert a vacant Port Authority lot into a staging area for tractor-trailers entering Port Liberty to alleviate commercial traffic in the surrounding neighborhood. Port Liberty is a vital cargo shipping channel on the Arthur Kill, originally known as Howland Hook.
The traffic generated by queuing commercial vehicles entering and exiting the port to drop off cargo to waiting ships spills onto Goethals Road North, where it blocks the entrance to the Goethals Community -- the borough's only mobile home park -- and restricts residents from entering and exiting their homes when cargo ships stop at the port.
"It's a serious quality of life issue that's causing traffic on the service road," said Borough President Fossella at a press conference at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Western Avenue in Mariners Harbor.
Borough President Fossella said the vacant lot has the potential to hold approximately 36 trucks with an entrance on Richmond Terrace, where drivers could park for extended periods of time. Truck drivers could also access the port's entrance via Western Avenue.
He said there have been preliminary conversations with the governor's office and the Port Authority to provide a solution to long-term complaints from the residents of the Goethals Community regarding idling trucks and traffic backups.
"We're hopeful that the state of New York and the Port Authority see this as a common sense solution to a critical problem," said Borough President Fossella. "It will take those trucks off the street. That's what we're hoping that people see this as."
The traffic generated by queuing commercial vehicles entering and exiting the port to drop off cargo to waiting ships spills onto Goethals Road North, where it blocks the entrance to the Goethals Community -- the borough's only mobile home park -- and restricts residents from entering and exiting their homes when cargo ships stop at the port.
"It's a serious quality of life issue that's causing traffic on the service road," said Borough President Fossella at a press conference at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Western Avenue in Mariners Harbor.
Borough President Fossella said the vacant lot has the potential to hold approximately 36 trucks with an entrance on Richmond Terrace, where drivers could park for extended periods of time. Truck drivers could also access the port's entrance via Western Avenue.
He said there have been preliminary conversations with the governor's office and the Port Authority to provide a solution to long-term complaints from the residents of the Goethals Community regarding idling trucks and traffic backups.
"We're hopeful that the state of New York and the Port Authority see this as a common sense solution to a critical problem," said Borough President Fossella. "It will take those trucks off the street. That's what we're hoping that people see this as."
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