In August 2000, four dead crows were found in Gramercy Park. The Gramercy Park Block Association contacted New York City’s Health Department to arrange testing and helped bring information about the concern to residents.

The Block Association worked with the department to establish surveillance in the Park. Its network of neighbors shared prevention information, spraying schedules and the precautions being communicated at the time.

The four crows tested negative for West Nile virus, according to the Block Association’s 2014 retrospective. The account preserves an early example of the Block Association’s communications work: connecting a local observation with the responsible agency, then keeping residents informed as the response developed.

A Health Department worker speaks with children beside surveillance equipment in the Park.
A Health Department worker talks with children while setting up West Nile virus surveillance in Gramercy Park in August 2000.
Sources

This is a historical account of the August 2000 response, recalled in 2014.