According to New York City’s Department of Heath, “West Nile Virus season is from April 1 to October 31.” Standing water is commonplace throughout Park Slope in containers left in yards and on indentations on the flat roofs of many buildings. John Casson points out that a group of neighbors received one of last year’s PSCC Ortner Preservation Awards for cleaning out the back and front yard of a building on First Street that had many cans filled with standing water in its front and rear yards and on its roof. Concern about standing water intensified this year due to reports that the number of the City’s residents who have contracted the Zika Virus is increasing.
Casson found that it was easy to report two places where mosquitoes could breed on his block to the Department of Health. There is a simple form on NYC’s Website where “You can report chronic standing water where mosquitoes could breed during mosquito season . . . in private or public locations.” You also can report standing water to the Department of Health by calling 311.
To report standing water using NYC’swebsite, please click this link!