STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Illegal garbage dumping continues to impact Staten Island, with trash piling up in a forest area in New Dorp.
Over the course of years, a collection of cardboard boxes, household garbage, debris and even plastic tanks have built up at the wooded end of Elmtree Avenue. The dead-end street borders the Swamp White Oak Forest, which is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
This dumping site is separated from the street by a metal barrier and is just steps away from the New York City Police Department’s 122nd Precinct stationhouse on Hylan Boulevard, small businesses and multiple homes. On a pole near the site, there is a New York City Department of Sanitation sign warning that dumping is illegal and violators could pay up to $20,000 in fines.
In the area closest to the street, there are three clear plastic bags with waste such as disposable plastic plates, food storage containers, empty dish soap bottles and old cans. Further into the site, empty milk cartons and filled black garbage bags litter the ground. Large, damaged plastic tanks can be seen near a set of broken fences.
“The condition of the area is unsanitary and unhealthy, and residents are forced to look at this garbage from their balconies and front doors while living in this neighborhood and paying city taxes,” said a neighborhood resident who messaged the Advance/SILive.com.
According to the resident, the community has been attempting to seek help with this site since early 2025 by contacting local government officials…