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Access-A-Ride offices in Long Island City infested with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:50:38 +0000

Access-a-Ride dispatchers in Long Island City say their Northern Blvd. bed bugs have been found in their office since the summer of 2008, and NYC Transit is only now taking action, The New York Daily News reports today. (Access-a-Ride is a transportation van service for the disabled.)

A bed bug sniffing dog team found bed bugs on the 7th and 8th floors of the building on Friday.

“I hope it will force some pressure for them to do something,” said John Wau, 48, who showed pinprick-sized scars along his right arm that he said came from numerous bedbug bites.”They keep telling us not to worry, that everything is okay,” said Wau, a customer service representative. “But they’re not doing anything about it.”

Since the bedbugs were detected Friday on the seventh and eighth floors of the facility – where more than 700 dispatchers work for the firm – sections have been taped off to keep employees away from the infested areas and several items were removed, workers said.

Officials from NYC Transit, which operates Access-A-Ride, said the problem is being addressed.

“One of the recommendations to be implemented within the next two days will be the steam-cleaning of carpets, cubicles and office chairs of the call centers,” said spokesman Charles Seaton.

Note: taping off specific areas will keep employees from an area, but will not keep bed bugs from coming to the employees.

The article features an interview with one worker, Idalia Perez, who says she brought bed bugs from work home to her Bronx apartment in August 2008; she says she lost thousands of dollars of furniture due to the infestation, and received no support from her employer.

When hundreds of workers may have been exposed to bed bugs over more than a year’s time, you have to wonder how many people in New York may have gotten their bed bugs from this one prolonged bed bug infestation.Similar Posts:

Air America Offices being inspected for bed bugs?

nobugsonme — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:04:20 +0000

FishbowlNY reports it received multiple tips that Air America New York employees were working at home today as their office gets searched for bed bugs.

. . . it’s no joke that the nasty critters have infected more than one media company in New York, including publishers, ad agencies and Fox News.

But just in case you thought the biting beasts had any political affiliation, we assure you they are equal opportunity insects, now setting their sites on progressive radio and Web news outlet Air America. We’ve heard from a few tipsters that employees from the company’s New York offices are working from home today as the space gets thoroughly checked for a possible infestation. We’re hearing that the source of the scare was one suspicious bug found in a tenant’s space that shares a floor with Air America.

You may recall that Marc Maron, an Air America personality, recounted his horror stories about a bed bug outbreak at home on his Breakroom Live show back in March. (Breakroom Live and the Marc Maron show were both cancelled in July 2009.)

In the Breakroom Live video below, from March 2009, Maron and a second Air America employee (”Dorsey the video guy” according to the YouTube description) discussed their respective bed bug infestations at home.

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NYC Department of Health tells press about movie theater bed bug complaint

nobugsonme — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:28:12 +0000

The New York City Health Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) apparently received an anonymous tip last week that the UA Theater Sheepshead Bay 14 on Shore Parkway, in Brooklyn had bed bugs.

Fox 5 News reports that

A manager on site did not want to speak with Fox 5’s Ti-Hua Chang about the reported problem, but a spokesperson for Regal Cinemas, the chain that runs the theater, issued a statement saying, in part, that “there exists no current health or safety risk for our guests or staff.”

Fox 5 found out about this because Celina De Leon (of the NYC Department of Health) emailed someone at Fox with the following message:

“The Health Department received an anonymous report last week about bed bugs at this theater. The Health Department worked with the theater manager … who indicated that they hired a pest control professional who responded to the problem.”

(Note, that memo is reproduced in the video segment below, but not in the short article accompanying it.)

It isn’t clear when Fox was contacted by De Leon, but obviously, this report was not made public until the theater had had a pest control firm in to “respond.” And, of course, we’re also not exactly sure what they responded to or how.

Now, the interesting thing here is not that an anonymous tipster told the NYC DOHMH that a movie theater had bed bugs.

Nor is it the fact that the theater then hired an environmental services firm to “respond to the problem.”

The real news here is that a New York City agency is passing along news about reported bed bug infestations in public to the news media.

Wow. That is new!

What’s next?

An official NYC-sponsored version of the Bed Bug Registry, warning others of infestations around businesses in the city?

Okay, don’t hold your breath on that one, but I do think this is a very interesting development.

It certainly puts the pressure on other businesses to respond to potential bed bug issues — so they can avoid such publicity, or at least show they responded quickly and appropriately.

It suggests that others who positively identify bed bugs in public places in New York City — whoever else they notify, such as the business owner — should also call the Department of Health.

Now, can New York City get a bed bug public education campaign?
An overhaul of the bed bug inspection process for tenants?
Some help for homeowners, landlords and business owners who are suffering both financially and from bed bugs, so they don’t cut corners with treatment?
Help with those difficult cases, where no one seems to be responsible for helping with prep?

I can’t wait to see what the New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board is working on.
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None Found

AgencySpy reports “there may be bed bugs at MediaVest”

nobugsonme — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:47:37 +0000

Media Bistro’s AgencySpy blog says that there may be bed bugs at MediaVest (whose New York City office is at 1675 Broadway).

AgencySpy shared a memo which said that employees on two floors were being evacuated for Thursday and Friday of this week, until bed bug treatments could occur on the weekend:

Unfortunately I’ve been told that all employees on the 7th and 13th floor are being asked to work from home tomorrow and Friday — in advance of treatments this Saturday. No live bugs have been found — however for a building this size, this is standard procedure.

[Emphasis mine.]

The memo also clarified,

This is not an emergency — just a smart precaution.

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Bed bugs invade New York City Department of Health offices

nobugsonme — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:56:55 +0000

The New York Post reports that New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene workers are being bitten by bed bugs.

Workers in the department’s tuberculosis-prevention unit complain that the painful pests have invaded their offices on the eighth floor of 346 Broadway for the second time.

“People are really upset,” one worker said, adding that while it was never made public, a bedbug colony took up residence on the same site two years ago.

“They told us we were crazy,” the worker said, referring to higher-ups. “I said, ‘I know what I saw. I’m not crazy.’ ”

Officials confirmed that bedbugs were found in the TB unit in 2007 and again within the last few days. In both cases, exterminators were called in.

“It’s fairly common to have a couple of bedbugs brought in by an individual,” said department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti. “It’s not an infestation.”

The “condition” of bed bugs in the tuberculosis-prevention unit of the NYC DOHMH suggests that the DOHMH also needs a “bed bug prevention unit.” Not for their building, but for the city.

Bed bugs don’t kill you like TB will (at least not in most cases) but they certainly are a quickly-spreading parasite which messes with one’s “mental hygiene” big time.

NY Magazine’s Daily Intel also questions the “it’s not an infestation” spin from John Jay and Department of Health, reminding me that “I’m not crazy” either.Similar Posts:

Saatchi and Saatchi New York offices infested with Bed Bugs

nobugsonme — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:38:35 +0000

Another high profile Manhattan office is infested with bed bugs, this time the 17th floor of the Saatchi and Saatchi building, BNET.com reports, based on a post by AgencySpy, which leaked an employee’s memo about the evacuation of the building in preparation for a pesticide treatment tonight (to be followed up in two weeks).

AgencySpy’s tipster (apparently jokingly) suggested the infestation could have come from an installation of new furniture, citing “the new JCPenney outfitted lounge they installed on the same floor in the free space from all the people they laid off.”

That sounds a bit like wild speculation (mixed with sour grapes) at this point.

Neither AgencySpy nor BNET make any mention of the real problem: the fact that employees may have brought the problem home — always a possibility when offices are infested.

AgencySpy makes light of the infestation:

Don’t worry about the bed bugs — they’re resilient creatures who like to leave poop smears on things they inhabit, like clothing and chairs and sofas and your skin. Sorry, does that make it worse or better? Take the day off kids, your company just pooped on you. But at least it was in the real sense and not the “Saatchi just fired my ass” metaphorical sense.

And yes, bed bug poop pales in comparison (um, metaphorically speaking) to being fired, especially in this economy.

However, bringing home a bed bug infestation would seriously bite.

All employees should learn how to search for signs of bed bugs at home, and should spring into action at the first sign of bed bug bites (but should also be aware they may not react).

Those whose working spaces were in the areas where bed bugs and their signs were spotted should have their homes professionally searched for bed bugs, in my opinion.

Update (9/11): itchyonmyrtle pointed out in the forums that Saatchi and Saatchi and Penguin are in the same building: 375 Hudson. Penguin, as we know, suffered from bed bugs several weeks ago.

This suggests bed bugs likely came to one office from the other, via employees going from one place to another, or via items which traveled in the building. Elevators, pipe chasings, mail rooms, employees whose work takes them or equipment to multiple firms, and the form of treatment which has occurred in other units should all be considered as among the ways bed bugs may be spreading throughout the building.Similar Posts:

Wilmington, Delaware firehouse infested with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:35:29 +0000

Bed bugs have struck another firehouse, this time Station 2 in Wilmington, Delaware.

Read the article here: Bedbugs bugging firefighters | 6abc.comSimilar Posts:

Scholastic Headquarters treated for bed bugs; update on Penguin

nobugsonme — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:40:12 +0000

The New York Observer reports that a second New York publishing company has been treated for bed bugs in one week.

Scholastic became the second New York publishing house in a week to suffer a bedbug scare this past Friday afternoon, as employees were told to put whatever belongings they needed over the weekend into plastic bags and asked to go home. As was widely reported at the time, a similar scene had taken place at Penguin’s offices in Hudson Square just days earlier.

The inspection happened after an employee reported having bed bugs at home.

A Scholastic spokesperson told the Observer that a bed bug sniffing dog was brought in (and barked, “which meant there was a possibility that bed bugs were in the building”). No actual evidence of bed bugs was found. They had a spray treatment for bed bugs anyway, and will retreat in 14 days.

What is the purpose of those plastic bags? I am always intrigued by these kinds of instructions. You can put infested items in plastic bags and seal them away. You can put uninfested items in plastic bags and seal them while in an infested environment.

But the purpose of placing your items from a possibly infested workplace into a plastic bag before taking them to a probably uninfested home (presumably only to open the bags up and use the items, since these are “belongings [employees] needed”) is — what, exactly?

Meanwhile, Penguin is playing down their recent bed bug scare. The Observer reports,

Marilyn Ducksworth, the corporate spokeswoman for Penguin, said today that the sweep carried out two weekends ago was “a preventative measure.”

“There was never an infestation,” she said. “Not one bug was found in either building.”

However, the memo staffers at Penguin received was said to have told staffers of an “insect issue in certain areas” on several floors (see the Galleycat post and the Observer’s report).

It would be interesting to hear more about what was discovered in each of these cases that led to the evacuation of staffers and pest control being called in.Similar Posts:

Bill Clinton’s offices have bed bugs, according to New York Daily News

nobugsonme — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:08:04 +0000

Rush and Malloy’s Gossip column in the New York Daily News reports today that Bill Clinton’s offices are infested with bed bugs, and employees have been evacuated during treatment:

Bedbugs have sent Bill Clinton and his staff fleeing the former President’s offices, a source tells us. No word on whether WJC actually has a bed in his Harlem suite, but the infestation is said to have been so bad that exterminators told Clintonistas to take a few days off.

That’s all we know so far.

I do not wish bed bugs on anyone, but one positive outcome is that high profile bed bug infestations like this one (and the current one at Penguin) raise people’s awareness about the spread of bed bugs and about the possibility that any location really can become infested with bed bugs.

An infested set of offices in Harlem is not an isolated incident; bed bugs may have come to Clinton’s offices via someone’s infested home, or through the walls from an infested neighbor, via someone visiting the offices, or someone else’s commute to work.

I truly hope Clinton and his staffers are able to become educated and impassioned enough about bed bugs to help address the problem somehow in a bigger way, or at the very least that they are motivated to tell everyone what bed bugs are really like.

I suspect this incident will simply be fodder for political jokes, but let’s hope for more consciousness raising, shall we?

See: Side Dish: Bill Clinton’s bedbug battle.

Update (8/25): our own anonymous source tells us that Clinton’s offices are not the only ones in the building with bed bugs.Similar Posts:

Penguin offices infested with bed bugs. Are non-Bedbuggers worried yet?

nobugsonme — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:07:32 +0000

Gawker broke the story today that Penguin’s offices are infested with bed bugs (see: We Know Which Publisher’s Office Has Bedbugs).

Gawker’s readers have apparently not learned much about bed bugs — even after the same blog broke the Marie Claire bed bug infestation story last year.

Instead of “Bed bugs at work? It happens,” the Gawker commenters more often hit the same note as “Social Crimer,” who asks,

So you don’t need a bed to have bedbugs?

No, you certainly don’t!

The New York Observer picked up the Gawker story and ran with it, interviewing our friend Lou Sorkin (of the American Museum of Natural History) and Jennifer Erdogan of Bell Environmental (a New Jersey pest control firm) about the possibilities for the books present at the Penguin building being infested (it’s possible, but not a given, was the upshot of this discussion).

They also talked about possible and likely weekend procedures, since Penguin employees were told to vacate the building at 1 p.m. today and not return until Monday, as the Observer reported:

What exactly are the pest control people going to do when they take over 345 Hudson this weekend? We read our experts the staff memo, which asked everyone to leave their “office doors, files, and desks unlocked,” “leave in place any items that have not been recently used, rather than take them home,” and “make accessible the perimeter of your office/cubicle as much as possible.”

Sorkin and Erdogan speculated the weekend might include inspections using canine scent detection teams, and either targeted or extensive spray treatments.

Meanwhile, the New York Magazine Intelligencer also has a bed bug story today which does not reference the Penguin story. The Intelligencer apparently moves in much more bed bug-aware circles than the Gawker commenters:

On a scale of one to ten, how much anxiety do you feel when you contemplate bedbug exposure? (You know, when you stay in a hotel, buy anything from a stoop sale or flea market, sit on a friend’s couch, or walk past a Salvation Army store?) Most New Yorkers are constantly at 8 or 9, sizing up even their most well-groomed friends with paranoid suspicion.

And here I was thinking that was just those of us who had had an encounter with Mr. Cimex Lectularius.

Is it really true that most New Yorkers are in a high state of fear and paranoia about bed bugs?

My own friends don’t seem to be.

I even have friends who have had bed bugs and still aren’t.

I am not one to encourage people to fear and paranoia. Caution and a good dose of precautions is more my style.

For example, learning how to search a hotel room for bed bugs, avoiding stoop sales and trash picked items, having a good look at the theater seat in the light, and inspecting one’s purse carefully rather than plopping it down on the bed after visiting a friend.

I also try to strike a balance between educating others (”Can we just put our luggage in the bathtub while I quickly check the room for signs of bed bugs? It just takes five minutes…”) and being discreet enough to not sound like I’m completely paranoid; between being cautious, and enjoying life to the fullest.

So that makes me wonder — for those of you post-bed bugs, or who never had them — how worried are your friends about bed bugs? What are they doing, if anything, to avoid them?

And are they more worried about bed bugs, or are they more concerned about you being worried about bed bugs?Similar Posts: