Support for North Shore ‘secret staircase’ grows, but ownership of site remains a question

Neighbors have complained about open drug use and unruly behavior on this 'secret staircase,' or step street, in Tompkinsville. (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Support is building to improve a drug-ridden, trash-strewn step street in Tompkinsville, but one mystery needs to be solved: Who actually owns the property?

“This has been utilized by the neighborhood, but we don’t know if it’s actually private property or city property,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. “It looks more like it’s private property, which complicates the issue.”

The step street runs from residential Tompkins Circle to a commercial area on Victory Boulevard.

The so-called “secret staircase” has frequently been marred by open drug use and disorderly behavior and has been a dumping ground for garbage.

There have been efforts in the past to better police and clean up the staircase, including recent cleanups by the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and Borough Hall, but a permanent solution has proven elusive.

‘PAVILION HILL’

City surveys show property called “Pavilion Hill” in Tompkinsville, including the staircase, being owned by the Pavilion Hill Corp.

Pavilion Hill Corp. built many of the homes on Tompkins Circle, according to Advance archives.

But Advance records contain conflicting information about the staircase itself.

Undated city survey shows property known as "Pavilion Hill," including Tompkins Circle step stairs. (Image courtesy of Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis)

An article from 2013 said that the stairs date back to 1907.

However, an Advance article from 1990 states that Pavilion Hill Corp. built the staircase in the 1920s and that deeds on Tompkins Circle “make note that the staircase and a three-foot-wide adjacent strip of land are to be publicly owned by the residents there.”

“If there’s no clear owner and no one has taken responsibility or wants to take responsibility for it, it makes sense for the city to somehow officially assume responsibility for that staircase,” said Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Bklyn.) “And that way, city resources can be used for it.”

Officials, including Borough President Vito Fossella, have called for lighting to be installed at the site and for broken fencing along the length of the staircase to be repaired.

This Advance file photo shows discarded syringe that was found in an area off the 'secret staircase' in Tompkinsville. (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance)

Malliotakis said that there may be some way to also earmark federal money in addition to city funds to help improve the staircase.

“It’s a very local project,” she said. “It’s possible that as part of a larger project in the neighborhood, we might be able to help.”

Broken fence and trash-strewn wooded area off 'secret staircase' in Tompkinsville is seen in this Advance file photo. (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance)

“I look forward to working with my colleagues in government to keep the Tompkins Circle staircase clean and safe for the community,” said City Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore) “My office will partner with DSNY and the NYPD to increase clean-ups and patrols of the area.”

Said Hanks, “We will work to identify funding opportunities to install lighting and repair the fencing, along with other potential upgrades to improve safety and preserve the character of the stairs.”

Fossella has visited the site and also organized a Borough Hall cleanup of the stairs. The NYPD has recently stepped up patrols of the staircase.

Borough officials, civic groups and neighborhood residents will meet on Sept. 12 to discuss the next steps to improve the property.

“Hopefully something good will come from everyone’s efforts,” said neighborhood resident Ann Marchesano, who has advocated for the stairs for years.

But she was discouraged to see that the stairs were again strewn with garbage recently, despite the efforts of Borough Hall and the Sanitation Department.

“Those who uphold basic values of respect for self and others, and pay taxes for that purpose, should demand that the rules keeping together the fabric of society be respected and enforced,” she said.

The Tompkins Circle Civic Association in 2013 called for the stairs, which neighborhood residents have used for decades as a shortcut to buses and shops on Victory Boulevard, to be landmarked by the city.

Step streets in other parts of the city have proven to be attractions, including the famous “Joker Staircase,” connecting Shakespeare and Anderson avenues in the Bronx, which was featured in the eponymous 2019 film starring Joaquin Phoenix.

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