Res. No. 1872 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York to conduct an oversight hearing of the City's procurement practices related to pesticide spraying for the West Nile virus. Body By Council Members Freed, Lopez and Perkins; also Council Members Clarke, Cruz, Eisland, Foster, Leffler, Michels, Nelson, Robinson and Wooten Whereas, According to recent reports, the City of New York has commenced the process of taking bids in order to award a contract for the next three years for the purpose of spraying mosquitoes; and Whereas, It is expected that one of the bids that the City will be considering is from Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management; and Whereas, The New York State Department of Health recently announced that it would be levying large fines against Clarke on the grounds that it failed to train and supervise its workers in regards to the hazardous chemicals that they were using for spraying; and Whereas, As a result of this lack of training, the exposed workers have complained of ailments ranging from breathing difficulties to sexual dysfunction; and Whereas, The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") recently cited Clarke with five serious violations of federal law, including Clarke's failure to provide proper respirators for workers handling hazardous chemicals used in spraying; and Whereas, City officials have not yet announced the new West Nile virus control plan, but have begun to accept bids for the purposes of awarding a multimillion-dollar pesticide contract - estimated to be worth $ 50 million dollars over the next three years; and Whereas, Despite strong objections by environmental and labor groups, the City is planning to consider Clarke's contract bid despite representations that it has violated state and federal laws; now, therefore, be it Resolved that the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York conduct an oversight hearing in relation to the City's procurement practices related to pesticide spraying for the West Nile virus. LS # 4122 AFN