NEW YORK CITY-A study released by the Center for an Urban Future yesterday at the Staten Island Economic Development Corp.’s annual conference, finds the borough faces significant challenges. These include a rapidly rising median population age, little new development and a lack of affordable housing density around transportation centers.

Jonathan Bowles, director of the Center for an Urban Future, tells GlobeSt.com that the study was commissioned by the SIEDC as a way to put fresh eyes on changes the borough has undergone in the past 20 years.

One of the key findings involves the lack of housing density around transportation centers. “If Staten Island is going to create more affordable housing, if it’s going to create new units and thereby reduce the upward pressure on prices, it’s got to look to some density in places in the borough that can handle it,” Bowles tells GlobeSt.com. One of those areas, he mentions, is the St. George neighborhood. “A place like St. George, near the ferry terminal where all the buses go--this is a place that could handle some more density.”

According to the "Staten Island: Then and Now" report, however, new development anywhere in the borough is unlikely. There were only 271 building permits issued in 2009--compared to 776 in 1990. Another shocking statistic is the amount of income that residents are devoting toward rent or mortgage payments. For instance, the number of homeowners paying more than 35% of their income toward homeowner costs rose from 18% in 1990 to 33% in 2009.

There are bright spots in the study, though. The office vacancy rate on Staten Island is 8.6%, the lowest since 2002, and retail and industrial vacancy rates are low as well. Bowles attributes this to the surprising number of new businesses taking root. “One of the really incredible trends that we identified is that there were roughly twice as many new businesses opened in 2010 as there were in 1990,” he says. “There’s really been an explosion of small business on Staten Island.”

Larry Ambrosino, executive director of SINY, which strives to support cultural institutions and promote economic development in the borough, hadn’t yet read the report. However, he thinks traffic is a problem, along with a lack of amenities for young people. “In terms of nightlife, there could be more of that kind of thing,” he says. “St. George is starting to build up now. It’s a growing kind of place, but I have to say for the younger generation there could be more to do.”

Bowles agrees. “I think a lot of young people today want to be in a more urban setting – they want a downtown type of feel where they can walk to things, where there are restaurants open relatively late at night,” he says. “I’m not talking about a raucous party scene, but just walkable amenities--and Staten Island lacks that type of downtown feel.”