STATEN ISLAND — The city finished installing its first 21 signs warning drivers on Staten Island to watch for the animals after a population explosion.
Last week, the Department of Transportation finished installing the signs, the first ones it has ever put up, according to Edward Pincar Jr., Staten Island Deputy Borough Commissioner for the agency.
The DOT chose streets that pass through or run adjacent to parkland, natural areas with large deer populations and spots with at least two documented crashes relating to the animals.
The borough has had a boom in the population of white-tail deer, with a 2014 aerial survey finding nearly 800 deer in Staten Island, up from just 24 in 2008.
The city has launched a task force to deal with the population, but several elected officials and residents repeatedly asked the city for the deer crossing signs, with some making their own to warn drivers.
