Staten Island officials want a new bus depot built at Freshkills Park

Staten Island elected officials and the bus drivers' union on Monday called on the MTA to build a new bus depot on the grounds of Freshkills Park, the 2,200-acre former landfill on the West Shore, amNewYork reported.

Borough President Vito Fossella hosted the press conference near the park and pitched the site as the home of a fourth depot for the borough, large enough to reduce or even end operations at existing depots. "Closing Meredith Avenue was a total lemon," he said.

Why a fourth depot

The MTA stopped leasing the temporary depot at 336 Meredith Ave. in Bloomfield in January 2025. City planning records describe the site as a former MTA bus depot and repair facility that ran for about 15 years, with parking for up to 80 buses, according to a City Planning Commission report. Its buses, mostly express routes, were moved to the borough's three other depots: Castleton Avenue, Yukon Avenue and Charleston.

Fossella says that caused overflow, congestion and parking problems around those depots. He said a Freshkills depot could let the city "close Castleton Avenue once and for all" and scale back Yukon, and pointed to the Department of Sanitation garage already built in the park as proof that big municipal facilities can go there. Assembly Member Charles Fall said neighbors of the Castleton depot on the North Shore see buses waiting outside to be serviced.

ATU Local 726 President Danny Cassella backed the idea, calling the closure of Castleton a potential "home run" for riders, workers and neighbors.

Pushback and the MTA's view

• Landfill concerns: express bus rider advocate Filippa Grisafi said the borough needs a fourth depot but questioned the location, citing the risk of disturbing contaminated soil under the former landfill, amNewYork reported.
• The MTA: spokesperson Michael Cortez said Staten Island bus service has become "more frequent, more reliable, and more popular" over the past year, and the agency said the Meredith closure had no negative impact. It cited its Customers Count survey: Staten Island satisfaction at 67%, up 7 points from fall 2025.
• Parks: had not responded to amNewYork's request for comment.

The old Meredith site is no longer an option. The city's Parks Department had sought to buy it as a fleet repair garage, in part because its Staten Island vehicles share an overcrowded Sanitation facility inside Freshkills Park, the CPC report says. SILive reported in October that the city lost the property to a $10.5 million buyer.

Freshkills Park continues to open in phases. Public sections already include natural areas, Schmul Park and its playground, Owl Hollow Field and a 3.3-mile greenway.