Mosquitoes Continue To Vex Mamaroneck

by Cindy Goldstein and Kathy Savolt

Both the August 10^th Work Session and Legislative Session of the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting had a contingent of residents who came to hear an update on what the Village had done to abate this year’s scourge of mosquitoes in their area.  The information discussed at these meetings is summarized below.

Update on Village Violation

Early in the legislative meeting, Village Manager Kathleen Gill reported that the Village was one of four property owners that received violations from the Westchester County Department of Health (DOH) and that remediation was underway.  See HERE. Gill stated that 300 catch basins were treated with larvicide on Friday, August 7^th, with 127 in the Shore Acres/Taylors Lane areas.  The median on The Parkway was also treated, along with land adjacent to Guion Creek, as cited in the DOH notice.  These were the areas identified by DOH, and Gill said these treatments had addressed the violation.  Applications will be repeated every two weeks throughout the rest of mosquito season.

Mosquito Control Budget Increased by 50%

Gill also asked the BOT to approve an agreement with Select Exterminating for mosquito control and also a budget transfer of $10,000 for a total of $30,000 so abatement could start earlier in the season next year.  The resolution passed unanimously (4-0) with Trustee Kushnick absent.  (See HERE). The VOM has been in touch with Cornell Extension to provide guidance on applications in Guion Creek, which is a tidal water body that requires a different abatement process.  That report is expected within the next couple of weeks. 

Mayor Admits Mistakes, Apologizes, Pledges Change

At the beginning of the public comment section of the legislative meeting, Mayor Sharon Torres acknowledged that there are different viewpoints and said the BOT has read all the emails and researched the issue.  She said most of the BOT and staff are new, it’s been a bad year for mosquitoes county-wide, and assured the public they heard everything they had to say.  She acknowledged that it was scary and emotional and admitted that communications should have been earlier in the season and that the BOT can do better.  She pledged to listen to all and firmly stated that staff never lied.  There were mistakes and errors in communication, and she urged residents not to attack the staff because if everyone is fired, it will not solve any problems, and we do want to solve the problem.

SooJin Park, author of the letter to the DOH signed by many area residents that triggered the inspection and resulted in violations to the four property owners (see HERE) said she appreciated the Mayor’s “humble and heartfelt message.”  Other speakers indicated they wanted to move forward.

Trustee DeRose Presents a Different Opinion

The last public item on the Work Session agenda was “A Discussion on Mosquitoes” with Trustee Maria DeRose as the sponsor.  As soon as the item was introduced by Mayor Torres, Trustee Nora Lucas requested an executive session for the “advice of counsel.”  The Work Session was delayed as the BOT left the room for this session.

On return, DeRose distributed a memo with attachments to the other BOT members and Village staff attending the meeting that included a copy of Public Health Law Section 1501.  See HERE. A copy of a NYCOM (NY Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials) commentary about the Gift & Loan Clause of the NYS Constitution was also attached.  See HERE.

DeRose called on the BOT to put this item on the September 8^th agenda to discuss the initiatives outlined in the memo, which are based on interpretations of New York State Law that are contrary to the Village Attorney’s interpretations. 

Public Health Law Section 1501

The first deviation from the Village Attorney’s opinion is the assertion that the Village can act as a “municipal board of health.”  This interpretation has been contradicted by a law passed in 1929 that names the Westchester County Board of Health the acting body for all towns and villages in Westchester County.

DeRose also asserts that Public Health Law Section 1501 applies.  Section 1 of that law refers to a “board of health of a municipality” and its powers regarding a mosquito nuisance, and that property owners shall “bear the expense of its suppression or removal.”  Section 2 describes possible cost-sharing and reimbursement arrangements between property owners and the municipality as determined by the municipal board of health.  See HERE.

As previously reported, the Village of Mamaroneck does not have its own board of health, and the Westchester County Board of Health serves in that role by law.

When the law is read in its entirety, it supports the statement of Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Health Chris Ericson in our previous article (see HERE), where he confirmed that the Village was not responsible for mitigation on private property and had no responsibility to reimburse individual property owners for their costs.

NYS Constitution Gift & Loan Clause

The Village Attorney’s interpretation of the Gift & Loan clause of the NYS Constitution is also being challenged by a group of residents, and DeRose advanced their alternative interpretation.  As previously reported, Village Attorney Steven Pambianchi had opined that the Village cannot treat private property for mosquito infestation using public funds.  The alternative opinion, which is the basis of DeRose’s memo, is that the public good far outweighs the private benefit and therefore, tax dollars can be spent to treat private property.  These two sides have been at odds for weeks with no resolution as yet.

Page 17 of the NYCOM report (that DeRose attached as support for her position) under “Public Nuisances” states that every “village is empowered to provide for the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of its inhabitants.”  It continues, “For example, in the face of a ‘public nuisance,’ a municipality is authorized to take the steps necessary to abate the nuisance and, as provided in Article 13 of the Public Health Law, to charge back the costs therefor to the person(s) responsible for creation of same.” (emphasis added)  Article 13 empowers local departments of health (in Mamaroneck Village, that is the Westchester County Department of Health) to take action to mitigate public health issues.  If property owners don’t remedy the nuisance on their own property, the DOH may do the mitigation.  Because property owners are responsible for nuisances on their own property, these costs may be charged to them.   The Orders issued last week by Commissioner Ambler, Westchester County include the following language: 

“WHEREAS, pursuant to N.Y. Pub. Health Law §308, §1303 & 1305, the Commissioner of Health (“commissioner”) is authorized to regulate nuisances affecting life and health within her jurisdiction.”  See HERE.

Village Officials Could Be Personally Liable

As these two interpretations have been circulating, Trustee Nora Lucas told The Mamaroneck Observer about her concerns that if the BOT and/or staff were to act in a manner that could be determined to be unlawful and a legal challenge was brought to stop the use of public monies for private benefit, they could be personally liable for any public money spent as well as legal expenses incurred and/or damages awarded.  The use of public funds could be construed as a private benefit because those property owners would not have to pay for treatments on their own properties.

DeRose’s Requests

In summary, the memo calls for five actions:

1)    Establishing a policy regarding mosquito abatement using both larvicide and adulticide.  The rationale describes Public Health Law Section 1500, which spells out actions that may be taken by a “municipal board of health.”  As mentioned above, Westchester County acts as the Village’s Board of Health and supersedes local authority.

2)    Plan to address mosquito control on Village-owned property.  The memo urges the Village to begin implementing a plan in January 2027 and indicates certain milestones with corresponding dates.

3)    Calls for the VOM to apply for DEC permits to spray private property and reimburse private landowners for the cost of any permits they obtain for the VOM to treat private property for mosquitoes.  As described in an email from the DEC, they will not issue a permit to the VOM acting as an “agent” as there is no such designation in the law.  See HERE.

4)    Obtain written permission from the Westchester Land Trust (WLT) for the VOM to treat their property with larvicide.  The DOH order (see HERE) is clear that private property owners must treat their own property.  Also, because the order specifies areas of the WLT property other than the 8 ponds the Village had previously treated, the mosquito breeding grounds encompass more property than in the past. WLT began larvicide treatments on just their 8 ponds in early July.

5)    Reimburse the WLT for all money expended in 2026 for Bti treatment.   

After DeRose’s presentation, there was no discussion, but Torres asked if DeRose wanted the item to be placed on the September agenda, and DeRose said “yes.”

A New Breed of Mosquitoes? 

Long-time residents have pointed out that the current crop of mosquitoes is different from those in prior years.  They are much smaller (about a quarter of an inch) and more aggressive than the usual mosquitoes found here and may be a relatively new invasive species:  the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Here is a screenshot from the app Picture This: Insect using a photograph of one of the mosquitoes found in Shore Acres See HERE. The CDC reports that the females lay eggs near water (not directly into it as other mosquitoes).  See HERE.

This is not an official confirmation of the species which should be done.  Google AI reports that the Asian Tiger Mosquito is now well established across downstate New York.  If this identification proves to be accurate, it is not clear if the traditional larvicide applications would be effective with this type of mosquito, and additional methods of eradication would have to be found.

Editor’s Note: Co-author Kathy Savolt is a resident of the Shore Acres neighborhood.