Large Swath of Manhattan to be Sprayed by Truck with Pesticides from Far Downtown to 30th Street
The pesticide spray “program” to kill mosquitoes said to be carrying West Nile virus began in 1999 under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani: it was just as dangerous then as it is now. Parks are particularly vulnerable. Washington Square Park is included in the large area in Manhattan to be doused with these toxic pesticides on Thursday, September 5th. Pyrethroid pesticides harm the ecosystem, killing bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and bats. (The last two are natural predators of the mosquito.) These pesticides are cancer causing and endocrine disruptors and also impact our respiratory systems. This spray program should have ended long ago, but three Mayors later, it drags on.
From the No Spray Coalition which has been working on this issue for 25 Years:
Manhattan Downtown to 30th Street to be Sprayed with Toxic Pesticides Thurs. September 5th
Far Downtown Manhattan up to East 30th Street will be sprayed by truck with toxic, cancer-causing pesticides which also harm the environment and wildlife on Thursday, September 5th.
Areas include the Lower East Side, Gramercy Park, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Financial District, Noho, Soho, Tribeca, Kips Bay, Midtown South and more. Spraying will occur between 10:30 p.m. on September 5th through 6 a.m. on the 6th.
The is the 25th year of New York City’s pesticide spray “program” in theory to combat West Nile virus — dousing New Yorkers and the entire ecosystem with toxic pesticides — continuing on with no end in sight. Unlike its dramatic beginnings with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani providing daily updates from his World Trade Center bunker, the current spraying receives little notice or fanfare.
The No Spray Coalition continues its fight against this toxic pesticide spraying; the organization won a lawsuit in 2007 against the spraying including a settlement by the City admitting to its harmful impacts. Yet the indiscriminate spraying continues.
There is sparse media coverage; the only way now for the public to be alerted to this spraying is by possibly coming across a flyer placed on a random telephone pole which won’t mention much beyond spraying to “reduce mosquitos.”
Manhattan is typically the least sprayed borough but this year large areas of uptown Manhattan have already been sprayed and downtown will be sprayed this week.
On top of the harm to human health, the pesticides harm and kill birds, bees, dragonflies, other insects, wildlife and animals.
Pesticide Spray Program for West Nile Virus Began in 1999
The pesticide spraying program in New York City aiming to kill mosquitos said to be carrying West Nile virus began in 1999 under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani – who gave daily, ludicrous updates from his World Trade Center bunker – and continues three mayors later with Mayor Eric Adams.
The pyrethroid pesticides being sprayed have been shown to be harmful to human health and the health of the eco-system, including animals, birds, wildlife, insects, and more. These pesticides kill off natural predators of mosquitoes, including dragonflies and bats. The spraying will occur by truck with pesticides fogged from the back of it.
Since its inception, this spray “program” to kill mosquitoes said to be carrying West Nile virus has never been properly reviewed by any city agency despite the continued use of toxic, harmful, and carcinogenic chemicals over the city’s population and environment.
The city is spraying pyrethroid pesticides, equally harmful, containing not only synthetic sumithrin but cancer-causing piperonyl butoxide.