Avella Calls on City to Spray for West Nile Along Queens-Long Island Border

State Sen. Tony Avella and northeast Queens civic leaders are calling on the city's Department of Health to adopt approaches used by Nassau County to combat mosquitoes on the borders of the borough.

Avella rallied with civic leaders Thursday to call on the city to drop larvacides and conduct ground treatments to fight West Nile Virus in communities along the border of Queens and Long Island.

"Residents in this area of Queens are rightly concerned over the dangerous threat the West Nile Virus poses to residents throughout Queens and beyond," Avella said during the press conference in New Hyde Park. "Nassau County has launched an aggressive campaign against the West Nile Virus. This is exactly the type of precaution that the city needs to take to address this deadly virus."

The senator said Nassau County had scheduled another round of spraying late this week and was contacting residents to let them know about planned treatment dates and ask them to stay indoors.

"The mosquito problem has been an ongoing situation in our area for more than five years now," said Diane Shamlian, a northeast Queens resident. "I have complied with the suggestions for taking precautions to reduce mosquitoes around my home as well as other measures to protect myself and my family, but the city has not done its part. Our area is never scheduled for spraying and has never been scheduled for spraying for over five years now."

The Department of Health could not immediately be reached for comment.

Interested in Bayside news, events, community bulletins, blogs and businesses? Sign up for the free Bayside Patch daily newsletter.