Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today opened a time capsule sealed inside the Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) in 1976, marking the start of construction on a $185 million capital project to modernize the Staten Island facility and ensure reliable, resilient wastewater treatment for decades to come.
The Port Richmond facility, located on Staten Island's North Shore, began operating in 1953 and serves roughly 200,000 residents across a 9,665‑acre drainage area. During former Mayor Abraham Beame's administration in the 1970s, the facility underwent a major $165 million expansion to meet updated harbor water quality standards and serve a growing population, quadrupling its treatment capacity from 15 million gallons per day to 60 million gallons per day.
Fifty years later, the City is investing $185 million to modernize the facility's electrical distribution equipment and upgrade its mechanical rooms, control room, offices and locker rooms. The project will also strengthen flood protection with reinforced walls, raised windowsills and deployable flood barriers.
DEP will complete the project in under four years - 40% faster than typical - by using a design-build approach that combines engineering and construction under one contract. Construction completion is expected in summer 2029. This project builds upon $279 million of ongoing wastewater treatment upgrades at the Port Richmond facility.
"The return of whales, dolphins and seahorses to our rivers and harbors represent decades of work to clean up our waterways. That progress isn't a reason to slow down; it's a reason to do more," said Mayor Mamdani. "We are building bigger sewer systems, turning street medians into sponges that absorb stormwater and modernizing wastewater treatment facilities like Port Richmond. And we are not wasting a minute - we're using tools like design-build to collapse timelines so we can deliver critical infrastructure sooner and protect the health and safety of every New Yorker."
"Mayor Beame's words from 50 years ago continue to resonate in our commitment to protect public health, improve water quality and build a better future for New Yorkers. DEP's $185 million investment in operational and equipment upgrades at the Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility will ensure the continued safety, efficiency and resiliency of this critical infrastructure while carrying forward the legacy of Mayor Beame's vision," said DEP Commissioner Lisa F. Garcia. "We have come a long, long way since 1976, investing billions of dollars in our city's infrastructure and making remarkable improvements to New York Harbor's water quality. As we reflect on the progress of the past 50 years, we also reaffirm our mission to continue this work for the next 50 years and beyond, creating a cleaner and more sustainable New York City for the next generation."
The time capsule, sealed behind the administration building's 1976 cornerstone, contained a letter from former Mayor Beame to New York City's mayor in 2026, along with architectural and engineering blueprints for the facility's 1970s expansion, the 1976 Harbor Water Quality Survey, staff photos, newspaper clippings and bicentennial coins. DEP continues to publish the annual Harbor Water Quality Survey today.
In his letter, Mayor Beame reflected on the capsule's contents as a record of the city's triumphs and setbacks, writing: "This time capsule, with its newspapers and other objects of our year, should give you an idea of our accomplishments and failures; our pride and frustrations; and above all, our hopes for those who come after us."
Written at the height of the city's fiscal crisis, the letter celebrated the wastewater facility's expansion as a commitment to a cleaner environment and public health, even during a period of deep uncertainty.
"We are doing all we can, despite a current period of governmental austerity, to leave you a legacy of a clean and beautiful environment. We hope you and your young people will be able to swim, fish and recreate in any part of the Hudson River, the East River, the Harlem River, the Long Island Sound, the Upper Bay and the beaches of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens."
Before the major investments of the 1970s, New York City discharged roughly 200 million gallons of untreated sewage into surrounding waterways each day because the city lacked sufficient treatment capacity. Sludge, the solid byproduct of wastewater treatment, was barged from the few operating facilities to a controversial ocean dumping site 12 miles offshore. That practice ended in 1992 under the Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988.
Today, DEP operates 14 wastewater resource recovery facilities that treat 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily. In the 1970s, only 85% of sewage was treated. Today, DEP facilities capture 100% of sewage in dry weather. DEP is also advancing New York City's circular economy by recovering resources from wastewater treatment to power homes.
"The Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility has served Staten Island's North Shore for generations, and this $185 million investment is an important commitment to our community's future," said New York City Council Majority Whip Kamillah M. Hanks. "As we continue to see growth and development along the North Shore, we must ensure that our infrastructure keeps pace. Modernizing this facility, strengthening flood protections and protecting our waterways are essential to the health, safety and quality of life of our residents. I thank Mayor Mamdani and DEP for recognizing that investing in our infrastructure means investing in the future of Staten Island."
