Less than 500 feet off the shores of Rye, New York, primitive seasonal cottages dot idyllic Hen Island. Owned and operated by Kuder Island Colony Inc, the summer residents of Hen Island still rely on 12th Century methods of collecting and storing untreated mosquito breeding rainwater for domestic use and disposal of their effluent waste into un-permitted sewage pits. These sewage pits are located mere feet from the shoreline of the environmentally sensitive Long Island Sound.
For years, Rye’s non-enforcement of federal, state and local health and sanitary laws on Hen Island has been mysteriously enabled by elected officials from both major political parties. Who exactly is being rewarded for this deadly political backroom bargain? That’s so far unknown, but the results became terribly tangible in 2012 when West Nile Virus victim clusters appeared in communities on the mainland adjacent to Hen Island.
Heal The Harbor, a local environmental group headed by Hen Island resident Ray Tartaglione has led a multi-year effort to publicize and expose not only his neighbors responsible for these health threats, but the government agencies and elected officials who deny that any dangers exist. Prominent national environmentalists, who find this shocking story of government cover-up and denial all too familiar, join the fight to try and save Hen Island and its neighboring shore communities from the people who control it.
HEN ISLAND is a passionate tale that honors the extraordinary power of ordinary people who fight for what they believe in, while shining a light on issues about American Democracy and environmental threats facing our modern world.
Threatened Litagation
Hen Island Threatens Litigation To Stop Upcoming Movie Release
Rye’s Vector Borne
Watch as then Rye City Council member, Joe Sack testifies that the mosquito infestation on Hen Island in Rye as “worse then he has ever seen.”
Rye’s Mosquito Factory
2016 and the City of Rye N.Y. under the direction of Mayor Joe Sack, still fails to protect the health and safety of it’s residents.
U.S. Attourney Investigation Request
Letter to US Attorney requesting criminal charges for impeding investigation and submitting false evidence be brought against attorney Ira Goldenberg
Rye’s Failure to Protect
Now in 2016 after almost ten years sitting on the Rye City Council, Mayor Joe Sack refuses to have the city issue violations for the worst mosquito infestation on record in New York State.
