Ferreri Urges Probe of Staten Island Cancer Rates 21% Above NYC Average
Updated
Updated · SILive.com · Aug 3
Ferreri Urges Probe of Staten Island Cancer Rates 21% Above NYC Average
2 articles · Updated · SILive.com · Aug 3
Summary
Dr. Anthony Ferreri, 75, is pressing city and state officials to launch a formal investigation into why Staten Island posts New York City’s highest cancer rates after surviving four separate cancers.
State registry data show Staten Island recorded 513.3 cancer cases per 100,000 people in 2019-2023, about 21% above the city average, with elevated rates dating back to at least 1976.
Ferreri said his own cancers were not linked to genetics; after breast cancer in 2013, he was diagnosed with prostate and ureter cancer in 2024 and bladder cancer in 2026, and will begin BCG immunotherapy this month.
Researchers say any explanation would likely require a large, long-term study rather than a single-cause answer, even as residents have long pointed to factors including Fresh Kills and Staten Island’s large 9/11 responder population.
No borough-wide investigation has examined all possible drivers, and the city health department pointed only to a recent report while the state health department did not say whether it would undertake a comprehensive study.