The NYC Health Department only gave us 4 days notice (over a weekend) that they planned to do aerial spraying of pesticides in the neighborhood with toxic chemicals known to cause mortality in caterpillar and butterfly populations.
With the intervention of our good friend and supporter, NYS Senator Robert Jackson, we were able to persuade NYC not to spray within 1,000 feet of this environmentally sensitive area:
"You requested that we maintain a distance of 1,000 feet from the Inwood Butterfly Sanctuary during the spraying. Please rest assured that the Health Department avoided this location.
Thank you for the work you do to protect butterflies."
Waheed I Bajwa, Ph.D., MPhil, FRES Executive Director, Office of Vector Surveillance and Control NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene