STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Borough President Vito Fossella expressed deep dissatisfaction over the temporary reallocation of some New York City employees from Staten Island to Brooklyn to assist with snow operations.
While the Sanitation Department confirmed that some additional employees were deployed to Brooklyn on Wednesday night to assist with efforts there, the department emphasized that no changes or subtractions were made to Staten Island’s snow plan during Winter Storm Fern.
A department spokesperson emphasized that “more than enough” workers for trash collection and snow operations were stationed on Staten Island Wednesday night and only some “above the planned number” were sent to Brooklyn.
Fossella said he felt Staten Islanders were treated like “second-class citizens” due to the decision to move some of these workers to Brooklyn.
“We can use the people who were deployed elsewhere,” Fossella said during a press conference on Friday at the intersection of Laredo Avenue and Pompey Avenue in Eltingville. “They’re doing the same exact thing in Brooklyn that they could be doing here. And this is not to take away from — I know a lot of folks have been working 12-hour shifts and doing their best to clean the roads, but we still have work to do.”
Fossella drew attention to bus stops, fire hydrants and crosswalks that continue to be impacted by the large amount of snow which fell last weekend. The borough president spoke to reporters from an intersection that continues to be impacted by a considerable amount of snow at the crosswalks.
Borough President Vito Fossella held a press conference at the intersection of Laredo Avenue and Pompey Avenue in Eltingville on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, to address his concerns over the deployment of Staten Island city employees to Brooklyn in the wake of Winter Storm Fern. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)
The spokesperson for Sanitation contested Fossella’s characterization of the situation.
“Staten Island has received full attention and resources during this storm and no snow personnel have been reallocated away from the published snow plan,” the spokesperson told the Advance/SILive.com.
“Staten Island has a massive snow plan — due to the number of streets and especially the number of narrow streets — and no changes, no subtractions were made to this plan during this storm,” the spokesperson added. “On Wednesday night, with more than enough personnel to complete trash collection and fulfill all snow operations, some workers above the planned number were sent to Brooklyn to assist there.”
Fossella stated that the move to deploy Staten Island resources to Brooklyn is a “slap in the face to the people of Staten Island.”
“There was a mistake made and I hope the city rectifies that and gets those crews back to Staten Island to help the people get around,” the borough president said.
While Fossella says he does not remember a time in which city agencies were redeployed to other boroughs under such circumstances, the Department of Sanitation argued the movement of such employees from borough to borough “is very common during snow operations.”
“In the case of this snowfall, Manhattan had an even greater proportion of workers sent to another borough,” the Sanitation Department spokesperson noted.
If there were a unique emergency in another part of the city that required such resources, Fossella would not take issue with that movement. However, as Staten Island continues to deal with the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern, Fossella said those crews should be supporting local residents.
DOT concerns
In addition to Sanitation employees, Fossella has concerns over the redeployment of Department of Transportation employees to other boroughs. During the press conference, Fossella claimed there was a Staten Island DOT crew working in Brooklyn on Friday morning.
A New York City Department of Transportation source told the Advance/SILive.com that a few dozen DOT personnel from across the city are assisting Sanitation with snow removal. Most of these employees do not typically handle snow-clearing operations, according to the source.
The source added that Sanitation workers and staff from other agencies have stepped up to clear bus stops and pedestrian ramps, which property owners are usually responsible for clearing.
The borough president gave credit to those putting in the tiring work, but criticized whoever decided “Brooklyn is more of a priority than Staten Island.”
A DSNY snow plow clears off part of Clarke Avenue in Richmond on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)
Every 12-hour shift the Sanitation department activates 2,500 workers citywide, according to the spokesperson for the agency.
“This is a significant amount of personnel to work on plowing, salting, trash collection and clearing bus stops and crosswalks,” added the spokesperson. “This also gives us the flexibility to move people around. Again, this is a very common practice during snow operations, and is not unique to Staten Island or to this storm.”
“What we’re saying is bring those people back to Staten Island and finish the work that they were in the process of doing,” Fossella said.
The borough president said he would welcome Brooklyn workers sent to Staten Island to clean the crosswalks, but to his knowledge, that has not happened.
‘We still need some more work’
Michael Langworthy, an Eltingville resident, walked over to the press conference to hear what the borough president had to say.
“I think we still need some more work here with the crosswalks,” Langworthy told the Advance/SILive.com. “I know Sanitation is working 12-hour shifts and I know they’re out there hardworking and they’re trying, but we need some more attention to these crosswalks and roads out here on Staten Island.”