Long considered just a littered and potholed alternative route for Bay Street with no appeal either esthetically or commercially, Front Street has lain hidden in plain view along Staten Island’s North Shore ever since the demise of the dockyards that once operated there. With the opening of the URL complex of housing and retail that is fast approaching, there is now talk about the potential for the building stock directly across the road from the URL site. There are some historic industrial buildings there that are presently being used for back road commercial activity: auto repair, warehousing, etc. There is certainly a place in our island economy for such businesses, but probably not on a major pedestrian and commercial roadway, which is what Front Street will soon be.
Here is the latest article on the topic from the Staten Island Advance on line, SILive.
The Rock Across the Harbor 
The hall for rent at left was where the filming location for Tess’ bar hangout in “Working Girl.”
Thanks for the info, ferryboi. I know that you are a wealth of knowledge about the island. If you ever have articles, photos or commentaries to post here, please feel free to email me.