STATEN ISLAND, New York (WABC) — Staten Island lawmakers are demanding answers after the New York City Parks Department suspended fishing and boating at Clove Lakes Park because of a raw sewage leak into the lake.<\/p>\n
Visitors to the park said the contamination has noticeably affected the lake and its wildlife.<\/p>\n
“The lake, all of it, is green. I don’t even see the turtles. I don’t see all the wildlife. I don’t see the fish. I don’t see the little guppies. It looks really unforgiving, I don’t know how they’re going to fix this,” park visitor Esther MacAnus said.<\/p>\n
Officials said they are still looking for information about the scope of the problem and how it will be addressed.<\/p>\n
“How long has it been going on? We don’t know what’s the extent of it. We don’t know. What’s the solution? We don’t know. What’s the game plan? We don’t know,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said.<\/p>\n
The city-operated park’s leak was discovered by the Department of Environmental Protection. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating.<\/p>\n
“People flush the toilets and ends up in our ponds. Borough President Fossella said it’s disgusting,” said state Sen. Andrew Lanza.<\/p>\n
“It seems to be a problem that goes back through many mayoral administrations, for at least 20 years,” said Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, who represents the 63rd District.<\/p>\n
Fossella called for agencies involved in the response to work together.<\/p>\n
“We want to bring everybody around the table is because too often there’s a lot of finger pointing, agencies. And it’s not our responsibility, it’s their responsibility,” he said.<\/p>\n
The suspension of recreational activities has disappointed some park visitors.<\/p>\n
“I was really bummed. I wanted to take my niece and nephew on a boat ride,” visitor Craig Giambrone said.<\/p>\n
The park is also home to the Stone House restaurant, where a temporary white drainage pipe has been laid and connected to a sewage drain. Customers must leave the building and walk across the patio to use a portable toilet outside.<\/p>\n
“Staten Island deserves a really nice park. And this is a gorgeous park, so hopefully they figure it out and they get it done,” park visitor Delilah Atanasio said.<\/p>\n
Eyewitness News said it contacted city and state agencies involved in the matter but did not receive answers to its questions.<\/p>\n
Fossella said that if a sewage-filled lake situation occurred in Central Park, the response might be different.<\/p>\n
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