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Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella criticized the city for neglecting Clove Lakes Park, which has been polluted by raw sewage from a collapsed sewer line near a lakeside restaurant for decades. Fossella called for an urgent meeting of city and state agencies to address the issue, noting that if it were happening in Central Park, there would be significant public outcry. The Parks Department shut down boating and fishing activities after media reports but has yet to provide full details on the extent of the pollution or past knowledge of the problem. Parkgoers expressed outrage at the conditions and called for accountability from city regulators.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Vito Fossella, the Staten Island Borough President and former Republican congressman, criticized the New York City Parks Department for neglecting Clove Lakes Park. The Post revealed that a collapsed sewer line from a lakeside restaurant has been leaking raw sewage into the park's waters for decades. Despite this issue being exposed by The Post, it took the city Parks Department a week to shut down boating and fishing activities at the park. Fossella argued that if the pollution were in a more tourist-centric area like Central Park, there would be greater public outcry and action. He called for a summit of city and state agencies to address the crisis fully and demanded transparency about the extent of the problem affecting this local gem.
Written for “Staten Island Sewage Issue” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
City bureaucrats only care about parks where tourists go — leaving a local gem in the forgotten borough to drown in raw sewage, according to Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.
uncertain
tourists → care → Fossella
Fossella this week ripped the toxic double standard that’s left Clove Lakes Park to rot — as he urgently called for a summit of city and state agencies after The Post revealed that a collapsed sewer line from a lakeside restaurant has been spewing human waste into the waters for decades.
asserted
line → rip → decades
“If this were Central Park, people would be flipping out,” Fossella told The Post during a tour of the park’s verdant trails overlooking the deeply polluted lake.
asserted
Fossella → flip → lake
It took the city Parks Department a week after The Post’s reporting to finally shut down boating and fishing at the park, and Fossella claimed that city agencies are still leaving him in the dark about the full extent of the problem.
asserted
agencies → take → problem
“What the public deserves is a safe, fun, healthy, public recreation area, and they don’t have it right now,” the Republican beep and former congressman said.
asserted
beep → deserve → it
He recalled his own childhood days playing baseball in the idyllic park, while calling for a full investigation into the pollution crisis.
asserted
He → recall → crisis
“What’s very unsettling and troubling is that it appears that this has been sort of going on for quite some time.
asserted
this → ’ → time
We need to know who knew what and when,” the borough president said.
asserted
president → need → what
The extent of the damage may be more severe than what’s currently known.
uncertain
what → know → damage
On Wednesday, Parks Department employees were observed performing a dye test to determine if other sewer lines in the park were malfunctioning.
asserted
lines → observe → park
A Parks Department employee said that they were testing every building in the park.
asserted
they → say → park
When asked if more collapsed sewer lines were found, a different Parks worker sighed and said, “I plead the Fifth.”
asserted
I → ask → Fifth
The park’s public bathrooms were locked during the testing.
asserted
bathrooms → lock → testing
The Parks Department told The Post that they were not aware of any other sewer lines leaking into Clove Lake and that they are working with the Department of Environmental Protection regarding next steps.
asserted
they → tell → steps
One parkgoer said that he had heard of plumbing problems at the site The Stone House restaurant occupies going back 50 years.
asserted
restaurant → say → site
“The basement always had sewage.
asserted
basement → have → sewage
I had a friend who worked there, he’d have to take his shoes off when he got home,” Tad, 71, a trucker who frequents the park said.
asserted
who → have → park
Fossella took city regulators to task for not addressing the problem sooner, and slammed them for not possessing or releasing crucial data regarding fecal coliform contamination.
asserted
Fossella → take → contamination
“There should be repercussions up and down the line,” said radiologist Sydney Russel, 25.
asserted
Russel → say → line
“I’m upset about it, really.
asserted
I → ’m → it
I took my kids here, and they were little,” said retired Staten Island nurse Donna DeWaters, 71.
asserted
DeWaters → take → kids
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