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    « Nickel and Diming Drivers, Flood Cash & More—Items on the Agenda for City Council Wednesday - April 15, 2009 | Main | No Recession at 401 Theodore Fremd Avenue in Rye »

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    You've got to be kidding me. A self proclaimed environmentalist is applying pesticides at the waters edge on the LI Sound? No environmentalist would ever advocate chemical solutions to a natural habitat like Milton Harbor. I don't care if you drink bird feces or not, I don't want to swimming in your larvacides as they wash in to Milton Harbor or witness the extermination of any of the wildlife that I observe every time I use Milton Harbor. What the hell is going on?

    Ever see this link?

    http://www.chem-tox.com/brevard/encephalitis/index.htm

    It's what happens when people run around thinking they know what they're doing when in fact they don't know their ass from their elbow.

    You write "The test spraying was done first with regular household garlic and finally a larvacide that is still used by the city of Rye today ..... But to do nothing and try to pretend that Hen Island doesn’t have the most serious infestation in Westchester County, is what is criminal. "

    Larvacides are hazardous to marine life and wild life. Are you saying that your test spraying of pesticides without proper credentials and training is not criminal but pretending there are no mosquitoes on Hen Island is? WTF? Great. Why are you putting larvicides on the ground that wash into the Sound when you claim the biggest problem is the water tanks? That doesn't make sense. Why not just ask your neighbors if they bleached their tanks ? Instead , are you saying you unconditionally applied larvicides? The lobsters disappeared around Hen Island during the times you were performing test sprays. Additionally, no one has ever claimed there were no mosquitoes on Hen Island. To do so would get you blank stares considering half of Hen Island is saltwater marshland. The problem is you didn't do your due diligence and obviously the Hen Island life isn't for you. If your afraid of a tiny little mosquito you shouldn't be on Hen Island.

    I was president in 2001. At that time the Board of Directors did implemented a mosquito control program. I did support that project but only after another board member and I attended a mosquito control educational program given by Clark Mosquito Control. This was the same classes attended by most of the municipalities in Westchester County. Clark is also the same company that Westchester County contracted with to handle mosquito control during the height of the WNV epidemic. To date they are still under contract in a number of sound shore communities. I think that was and still is the responsible thing to do. Maybe you are not aware of a few facts that I would like to make you aware of;

    1. Rye has been one of the first communities in Westchester testing positive for West Nile Virus (WNV) year after year. That being said, I feel Rye should be a leader in mosquito control. Rye should also pay close attention to the failures of the Hen Island community to control mosquitoes as Hen Island is also responsible for much of the mosquito discomfort in Greenhaven and Milton Point.

    That does not mean spraying. Spraying should always be the last alterative (and I emphasize last) in any good mosquito control program.

    2. The first and best defense against WNV is to remove all standing water. Hen Island cannot remove standing water because each home needs to store water for its domestic use. And store water they do, to the tune of 1000 gallons per cottage. Times 33 cottages equals 33000 gallons of stored water on Hen Island.
    http://healtheharbor.com/gallery/pages/water/water2.html

    Not only does the stored water encourage the growth of the mosquito population but it also threatens the safety of our residents because the water is collected from rooftops where the birds defecate. This is the water Hen Islanders use for personal hygiene and bathing, washing kitchen utensils, dishes, ECT...

    3. In 2001 at the height of the WNV epidemic, some of the Board members were encouraging residents of Hen Island to bury dead birds rather than report them to the Health Department. The first Board member making that suggestion that comes to mind happens to be the mother of Mayor French’s neighbor, Lorraine Volpe. Mayor French visited Hen Island at the request of the Volpe’s before the election. But he has refused to visit when I asked him to tour the Island with me and observe the leaking septic systems. Interestingly enough to date, Catherin Parker has been the only council person concerned enough to take a tour.

    Additionally a representative from Clark Mosquito Control drove from Mass. to Rye to address the stockholders and educate them in mosquito control, only to be ban from the meeting by the Board of Directors.

    4. Part of the test mosquito control program implemented in 2001 on Hen Island included the installation of bat and bird houses, the purchase and use of mosquito magnets, the encouragement of residents to purchase sealed water storage tanks, regular lawn maintenance never before required on Hen Island just to mention a few. The test spraying was done first with regular household garlic and finally a larvacide that is still used by the city of Rye today. Personally I wouldn’t care if you caught the mosquitoes with chop sticks. But to do nothing and try to pretend that Hen Island doesn’t have the most serious infestation in Westchester County, is what is criminal.

    "The sad part is that the past administrations have been enablers and they allowed this to continue day after day, year after year. "

    Did you consider yourself "aiding and abetting" when you served as the President of the board just a few short years ago? Did your workers spray pesticides on the island without licenses before the corporation stripped you of the presidency ,threw you off the board and banned pesticide use on the island? Is the act of spraying pesticides in a wetlands without licenses criminal? Licensed pesticide sprayers are required to keep a record of what pesticides they spray, where they spray them and when they sprayed them. Did you know that? Ever hear of the term "psychological projection"?

    Chris,
    Personally I could care less about the real estate values on Hen Island. Some of the Islanders applaud my efforts regardless of how it effects the values and some of them agree that the problems should be address but don’t approve of the way in which I am bring attention to the issues.

    Last year my home on the Island was vandalized on three occasions, my boat was vandalized twice and also cut loose from it mooring twice, once sustaining over 24 thousand dollars in damages and the other over eight thousand. I am not even going to address the thousands in damages to my cars. The Board of Directors tries to pretend they are a community that is concerned for the environment, Milton Harbor and their neighbors. In actuality they are only interested in keep their cost as low as possible. They want to use the Island and take no responsibility for the environment, the safety of the residents or their actions. Their answer to the problems is we have lived this way for the past fifty eight years so why should we change now.


    The sad part is that the past administrations have been enablers and they allowed this to continue day after day, year after year. There has been a lot of movement in the right direction but it has been an up-hill battle. We now have a Mayor that is saying that if you commit crimes against nature it is not Rye's responsibility, it is Westchester County’s problem. Isn’t that a shame?

    The Better Part of Discretion -- Responsibility
    People should understand that elected officials may -- if they choose -- opt not to enforce the laws. This is called discretionary enforcement. Undoubtedly, there's a time and a place where such "discretion" is appropriate. The Hen Island untreated sewage and contaminated potable water issues don't fall under that category.

    Give Credit ...
    The Rye city council did send its inspectors to Hen Island. After more than two years of denying that serious conditions existed, the city at last acknowledged the problems and this spring wrote violations to Hen Island homeowners for: improper storage of propane tanks, fire hazards, improperly installed solar systems, faulty structural problems ect..ect...ect... Hen Island homeowners are complying.

    But not for Jobs Half Done...
    The city council, headed and directed by Mayor Otis, is still refusing to write violations for:
    the unlawful, unsanitary handling of raw sewage, and the unlawful, unhealthy collection of potable water. Hen Island homeowners are not addressing these issues because no violations have been written.

    The mayor claims it's not Rye city's responsibility but Westchester County's. The County has disclaimed jurisdiction for sanitary conditions on Rye's Hen Island effectively dumping the problem back in the lap of Mayor Otis. Why doesn't this city council face up to its obligation to its residents? These problems are real and laws exist to deal with them.

    The council seems to be exercising its discretionary enforcement of law against
    the populace. Can their choice not to enforce the law be in the best interest of
    the people? Hardly. And Rye residents should be made aware of it.

    What can you do? If politicians don't act responsibly where discretionary enforcement is concerned, your only recourse is to make a stand in the voting booth. Please remember this November to vote out those council members running for reelection: Mayor Steve Otis and Andy Ball. And remind the other members of the council -- George Pratt, Catherine Parker, Paula Gamache, Mack Cunningham, and Joe Sack -- that you want health and sanitary laws enforced. Don't support elected officials who leave important jobs half done.

    The Rye City Mayor may wash his hands of this situation
    under the guise of discretionary powers. Please remind
    him that just because he don't have to do what's right
    doesn't mean he shouldn't. Please pass this on to anyone
    from Rye that may be interested and please don't vote
    for Steven Otis in Rye on November 3rd.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEVYeKIvxuA

    Mayor Otis Regrets (He’s Unable to Help Today) ... The Rye city council headed by Mayor Otis is still refusing to write violations for: the unlawful, unsanitary handling of raw sewage, and the unlawful, unhealthy collection of potable water on Hen Island. Why? The mayor claims it’s not Rye city’s responsibility but Westchester County's even though Hen Island is located in Rye. The County, under the head-in-the-sand guidance of Deputy Health Commissioner Lenny Meyerson, claims, "no problems exist." These problems are real (it was a Westchester County inspector who determined conditions were so bad as to warrant closing the island two years ago).

    Laws exist to deal with them. And (given the childish stance taken by the county) it's Rye's responsibility to do so. The city council did make a start: After learning that it had been misinformed by city manager Paul Shew about conditions on Hen Island, the city council admitted it had made a mistake and finally sent inspectors there. This spring inspectors issued violations to Hen Island homeowners for: improper storage of propane tanks, illegally installed water heaters, and non-compliant solar heating systems.

    So why don’t mayor Otis and this city council face up to their obligation to Rye residents and continue to enforce the law? Elected officials may -- if they choose -- opt not to enforce the laws. This is called discretionary enforcement.

    Undoubtedly, there’s a time and a place where such “discretion” is appropriate. But the Hen Island untreated sewage and contaminated potable water issues don’t fall under that category. The council seems to be exercising its discretionary enforcement of law against the populace. Can their choice not to enforce the law be in the best interest of the people? Hardly. And Rye residents should be made aware of it.

    What can you do? If politicians don’t act responsibly where discretionary enforcement is concerned, your only recourse is to make a stand in the voting booth. Please remember this November 3rd to vote out those council members running for reelection: Mayor Steve Otis and Andy Ball. And remind the other members of the council -- George Pratt, Catherine Parker, Paula Gamache, Mack Cunningham, and Joe Sack -- that you want health and sanitary laws enforced. Don’t support elected officials who won't fix real problems. The Rye city council may wash its hands of this situation under the guise of discretionary powers. Please remind them that just because they don’t have to do what’s right doesn’t mean they shouldn’t.
    http://healtheharbor.com/gallery/video/sewage.html

    Ray Tartaglione
    http://www.HEALtheHARBOR.com

    OKAY, I'LL Buy into the Culross thing. I'm still very baffled with the Judge Lane thing? How or Why would he fit on such a INFAMOUS LIST?
    Scooter, You are so right, I can see what I ate for lunch,
    I just haven't finished chewing you up and spitting you out yet!!!
    Mr.Floatie I am a big fan of yours and just love the last paragraph!!! How about you Scooter,wasn't it GRAND?

    You left out,

    Board of fire Wardens

    volunteer fire chiefs

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