Borough President Vito Fossella Calls For Increased Vigilance, Security In Staten Island's Parks

Borough President Vito Fossella was joined by NYPD Borough Commander Melissa Eger and District Attorney Michael McMahon to address security concerns in Staten Island’s parks.

The trio stood together in response to the attempted assault of a 53-year-old woman who was jogging in Silver Lake Park on April 3.

“What we’re saying here is there’s no tolerance for anything like that in Staten Island and that we will do everything we can to track down the individual who assaulted this woman and also send the signal that if anybody dares to try to do something like that again, they’re going to have the full force of the law come down upon them,” said Borough President Fossella during a press conference at the iconic entrance to Silver Lake Park.

Borough President Fossella added that “your daughter, or your wife, or your sister should be able to walk or run anyplace on Staten Island without fear of being attacked, being assaulted, or even worse.”

“The temptation is to say something like ‘you’ve got to be vigilant,’” he said. “That’s common sense, but the reality is, we want to put the force down on the handful of bad people who want to bring harm and injure innocent people."

Assistant Chief Eger said images of a suspect have been released and called attention to an increase in park security.

“Since the time of the assault, the NYPD has increased our police presence at Silver Lake Park and the surrounding area,” she said. “You have seen and will continue to see a larger number of police officers patrolling the park and surrounding areas. We want you, the community, to be safe and to feel safe.”