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February 24, 2017

Construction Kicks Off on Infrastructure Improvement Project in Staten Island

Contact:
Dan Leibel
718-391-1251

Staten Island, NY – Construction is underway on a project that will alleviate street flooding in the Annadale neighborhood of Staten Island, the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) announced today. The work is being managed by the DDC for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Tim Lattanzio, DDC Resident Engineer and Staten Island native, is managing the Katan Avenue project

The $4.3 million reconstruction project stretches along Katan Avenue between Richmond Avenue and Annadale Road.  The work anticipated to be complete in Summer 2018, will add 200-linear-feet of sanitary sewer, 2,400-linear-feet of storm sewer, and 450-linear-feet of water main pipe. Additionally, 22 new catch basins will be installed to connect the street to the storm sewers below.

“This project will improve the resiliency of the neighborhood once completed and will help strengthen the BMP in the area, providing reliable infrastructure for Staten Islanders,” said DDC Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora. “Any overflow of the Bluebelt system will be diverted into these new storm sewers to reduce flooding in surrounding streets when it rains.”  

The project is being managed by resident engineer, Tim Lattanzio, a 30-year-old Staten Island native who spent four years working with DDC’s in-house infrastructure design team before switching to construction management. The reconstruction of Katan Avenue is Lattanzio’s first job in this new role. 

“Switching from design to the construction side is exciting for me because I’ve always had an interest in hands-on work,” said Lattanzio. “In design you don’t get to see the daily activity of the community or how the residents interact with their environment. You mostly deal with graphs and lines. But being out in the field and seeing the conditions of the project site adds a deeper dimension.”

The first step in the infrastructure reconstruction is to check if the water main must be moved to make room for the new storm sewers.  Once complete, the new storm sewers will be installed at an angle that diverts water away from a nearby BMP, which is a natural wetland area that currently serves as a catch basin for storm water as part of the Staten Island Bluebelt. After the storm sewers and sanitary sewers are installed, catch basins will be built to connect to the storm sewer line. The final stage of the project will leave residents with freshly paved roads and sidewalks equipped with new pedestrian ramps to meet ADA compliance.

The project will encompass storm sewers on Katan Avenue between Richmond Avenue and Annadale Road; Annadale Road between Figurea Avenue and Laredo Avenue; and Wolcott Avenue between Filer Street and Annadale Road.

Lattanzio, a graduate of City College and alum of St. Peter’s High School in Staten Island, started working for the DDC as a civil engineering intern while he was in college. He said his interest in the field comes from his father, who was also an engineer.

“I’m from the North Shore, but I have friends down here in the South Shore,” he said.  “It makes me feel like I’m helping out my community.”



About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor de Blasio’s lenses of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, new or upgraded roadways, sewers, water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $15 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative, and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to city projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.