Downtown Mosquito Hatchery

Itchy red bumps that bleed when you scratch them are only one of the gifts mosquitoes keep giving. Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, Malaria and West Nile Virus are a few of the others—and mosquito borne diseases can also affect dogs, cats and other animals. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and here in Jersey City, on Columbus Avenue near the Grove Street corner, there’s our own municipal mosquito hatchery. It’s been well over a year since a construction crew was near this spot—there was supposed to be a building there by now—financing fell through soon after the foundation was laid. It’s just an eyesore, not a health and safety hazard—see the fence! You complain about gentrification and now you complain about a debris filled pool of muck! The good news is, mosquitoes only breed in temperatures above 60 degrees or so—still a few weeks before the real hot weather comes and besides, Summer only lasts about four or five months, right? Don’t worry though, most mosquitoes haven’t yet built up a resistance to the insecticide used in New Jersey—as long as they spray the poison on pools of water within 24 hours after every rain fall!