The Office of Staten Island Borough President
09/21/2026 | Press release | Archived content
'Let's Give Them Their Park Back': Call For Inter-Agency Task Force To Investigate Raw Sewage Leakage At Clove Lakes
Borough President Vito Fossella, State Senator Andrew Lanza, and State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo called for a city and state Inter-Agency Task Force to investigate the decades-long discharge of raw sewage into the waters of Clove Lakes Park.
A series of dye tests conducted by the City Department of Environmental Protection on the plumbing of the Stone House Restaurant concluded its sewage system was leaking waste into Clove Lake, Martling Pond, and Brooks Lake -- the park's interconnected waterways which have since been closed to boaters and fisherman.
"If this was Central Park and this was the issue -- you had raw sewage in the lake at Central Park -- people would be flipping out, justifiably, and there'd be an all-hands on deck summit to fix the problem, but maybe because this is Staten Island, it's a little less important," said Borough President Fossella at a press conference outside of the Stone House. "We're not here to point fingers, we want a solution. The people of Staten Island deserve a safe, fun, healthy public recreational facility. They're not getting it right now. Let's give them their park back, it's a beautiful facility and it's up to the city to solve it."
Borough President Fossella said hundreds of Staten Islanders use "this jewel of a park" every day, either for a simple walk or to play baseball or tennis. He called the sewage leakage a "clear and present danger" to the health of parkgoers.
"In our experience, when you sit everyone around the table, you eliminate the finger-pointing and expedite the process to get the job done," said Borough President Fossella. "The question is, it just a leaky pipe or does the whole system need to be replaced? That is the question the city needs to answer."
A series of dye tests conducted by the City Department of Environmental Protection on the plumbing of the Stone House Restaurant concluded its sewage system was leaking waste into Clove Lake, Martling Pond, and Brooks Lake -- the park's interconnected waterways which have since been closed to boaters and fisherman.
"If this was Central Park and this was the issue -- you had raw sewage in the lake at Central Park -- people would be flipping out, justifiably, and there'd be an all-hands on deck summit to fix the problem, but maybe because this is Staten Island, it's a little less important," said Borough President Fossella at a press conference outside of the Stone House. "We're not here to point fingers, we want a solution. The people of Staten Island deserve a safe, fun, healthy public recreational facility. They're not getting it right now. Let's give them their park back, it's a beautiful facility and it's up to the city to solve it."
Borough President Fossella said hundreds of Staten Islanders use "this jewel of a park" every day, either for a simple walk or to play baseball or tennis. He called the sewage leakage a "clear and present danger" to the health of parkgoers.
"In our experience, when you sit everyone around the table, you eliminate the finger-pointing and expedite the process to get the job done," said Borough President Fossella. "The question is, it just a leaky pipe or does the whole system need to be replaced? That is the question the city needs to answer."
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