Fossella has been a staunch advocate for Staten Islanders during his tenure and the Advance/SILive.com endorses him for a second term in Borough Hall.
Borough President hopefulls Incumbent Republican Vito Fossella and Democrat Michael Colombo and meet with the Advance Editorial Board in the Bloomfield newsroom on Monday, Sept 22, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
Fossella correctly opposed the siting of battery energy storage system (BESS) sites in residential communities here. The industrial facilities, with their serious fire risks, simply do not belong next to homes or businesses.
He was also in the right when he came out against the City of Yes building plan, which could bring an explosion of development without guarantees that new housing will be of the affordable variety so desperately needed here.
Fossella, a former U.S. congressman, was also spot-on when he opposed congestion pricing. The toll has not only slammed car-dependent Staten Islanders with an onerous and unfair new expense but has led to an increase in truck traffic on already congested borough roads.
Fossella also rightly opposes the Northeastern Supplemental Enhancement Pipeline, which threatens to spoil Staten Island’s coastal environment, and has correctly raised concerns about the coming proliferation of trucking facilities along the Arthur Kill Road corridor.
When needed to, Fossella has gone to court in order to protect the interests of Staten Islanders.
Part of the borough president’s role is serving as Staten Island’s cheerleader. We welcome Fossella’s participation in cultural and non-profit events across the borough, something that was missing in the last administration.
The presence of the boroughwide leader signals support these organizations need during financially difficult times.
Democratic candidate for Borough President Michael Colombo meets with the Advance Editorial Board in the Bloomfield newsroom on Monday, Sept 22, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
Colombo, an insurance advocate, is to be praised for his own opposition to BESS sites, the pipeline and the trucking facilities.
And while game to engage the borough president during a meeting with the Advance Editorial Board, Colombo simply can’t compete with Fossella’s experience and command of the issues.
The Democrat’s repeated calls for Staten Island officials to negotiate with the city powers-that-be on crucial issues rang as unrealistic to us. As Fossella correctly pointed out, sometimes the so-called forgotten borough must fight.
Borough President Vito Fossella and Democrat Michael Colombo meet with the Advance Editorial Board in the Bloomfield newsroom on Monday, Sept 22, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon) Jason PaderonJason Paderon
But our endorsement of the incumbent comes with key caveats.
We are deeply troubled by Fossella’s response to recent revelations about a racist and hate speech-filled text thread among leaders of national Young Republican groups, including three Staten Islanders.
The text thread featured references to Hitler and gas chambers and included vile remarks aimed at Black people.
Borough Republicans were quick to denounce the text thread, and Islander Peter Giunta, who took part in the thread, was fired from his job as chief of staff to GOP South Shore Assemblyman Michael Reilly.
Fossella for some unfathomable reason took another tack in responding to the controversy.
Fossella in his statement pointed to those who celebrated the murder last month of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, among other incidents.
“As we look within and take responsibility for our own, we hope Democrats find the courage to act with the same moral clarity,” he said.
Anyone else in Fossella’s position would offer a much more specific condemnation of the immediate Staten Island issue and not pivot to “yeah, they did it too!”
Also concerning was Fossella’s purge earlier this year of Community Board 3 members, including the removal of longtime environmentalist Cliff Hagen.
Hagen, it just so happened, ran against Fossella’s son, Griffin Fossella, for the South Shore City Council seat earlier this year. Hagen remains the Democratic candidate in the general election.
Ousting Hagen, who has for years been widely admired for his activism and community service, appears to have been little more than petty political payback.
Fossella has denied the allegation, but the mere appearance of the removal being politically motivated should have been enough to stay the borough president’s hand when it came to Hagen.
We were puzzled as well by Fossella’s ringing applause when President Donald Trump pulled $48 million federal funding from the Arthur Kill Terminal wind project, a project that had deep bi-partisan support from borough officials.
In lauding the president’s decision, Fossella said, “We were skeptical of the suitability of this site, viewing the massive, long-term funding required as both risky and overly ambitious.”
He also said that “we were concerned about the potential environmental damage” from the project.
But Fossella’s full-throated support for Trump’s decision doesn’t square with the fact that the project did pass through Fossella’s office during the terminal’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
The borough president was given a chance to make recommendations in 2024 before Arthur Kill Terminal went to the City Planning Commission and City Council for approval.
While expressing our concerns about Fossella, Democrats don’t get away scot-free here.
The late Ralph Lamberti was the last Democrat to hold Borough Hall, back at the end of the 1980s. If the Democrats, who have been in disarray lately, want to regain that seat, they simply must put up better, more seasoned candidates.
(Editorials and endorsements are developed by the Advance/SILive.com Editorial Board, and do not represent the opinions of individual newsroom staff.)
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