In a follow-up inspection of the former YMCA building at 23-25 Temple St. on Thursday, city health and code enforcement officers found improved conditions, a flurry of work to spruce up the building, and only the occasional solitary bedbug scurrying up the side of a wall.

“They’re doing much better. It’s certainly not perfect yet,” said Heidi Peek, the city’s deputy health officer.

“It’s definitely better than what it was,” said Nelson Ortega, a code enforcement officer.

The building’s 117 rooms were inspected in early February, and 16 were found to be infested, including a number which were “badly” infested. The infested units were found throughout the building. Then, in late February, tenant Richard Jebb sued the landlord for interrupting his “quiet enjoyment” of his home by not getting rid of the problem in a timely fashion.

The article goes into some detail on the reactions of various tenants.

It was disturbing to read that Jeff Muscovitz was among the badly bitten, and he had moved into the building at the end of February, when management and press were already fully aware of the situation:

Jeff Muscovitz, 28, moved into the rooming house on Feb. 29. He had been living in Derry, but wanted to be closer to his job as a cook in the St. Joseph Hospital cafeteria.

Bedbugs introduced themselves to Muscovitz during his first night there, he said.

“As soon as I woke up the next morning, I had 12 to 13 bites on both arms,” he said.

To say the least, dealing with the bedbugs has been a hassle, Muscovitz said.

“It has been since the very day I moved in,” he said.

One concern is that he hasn’t been able to see his children, he said.

“I have two kids I see every other week, but I won’t ever bring them here,” Muscovitz said.

Not being able to see one’s own children certainly seems to infringe upon the “quiet enjoyment” of one’s home.

I wonder if Muscovitz moved into a unit that was known to be infested, or if he had moved into one where the previous tenant had no idea about bed bugs, and the inspection turned up nothing?

There was some suggestion that some tenants were not fully cooperating with preparation for treatment, while others were afraid to mention they were suffering from the problem. While landlords can be slow to respond, or may not always do so fully, tenants must also play their part by preparing for treatment, and telling landlords when they see or feel bites, or see bed bugs or other signs. If some tenants are unable to do the prep, for whatever reason, they may need assistance. Solutions need to be worked out in such cases–for the benefit of all tenants, and the management alike.

Hopefully treatment will continue until this problem is completely wiped out.

And I sure hope no one else moves into a bed bug-infested unit in the building until that happens!

• Bed bug notice: East Village, NYC, January 2008
• Toronto tenants camping outside to avoid bed bugs: update
• Nashua, NH Health Officers on prowl for bed bugs
• Shameful landlord AIMCO: biggest landlord in USA refuses to deal with bed bugs

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Richard Jebb of Nashua, New Hampshire, is suing his rooming-house, having had nine treatments in his room and still suffering from bed bugs, according to the Nashua Telegraph.

 On Tuesday, Jebb took his bug problem to Nashua District Court, suing his landlord, Mark Flint, and the owners of the building, 23-25 Temple Street Realty LLC, for interrupting the “quiet enjoyment” of his property by not eradicating the problem in a timely fashion.

The company faces a $1,000 a day penalty for every day of the violation, about $240,000 if it is proven the company was in violation of the law in June.

Sixteen units inspected showed signs of bed bugs earlier this month.

The bugs only come out at night, he said, remarking that tenants in the building talk about seeing the bugs on their television screens late at night, something he said he recently experienced.

It’s not uncommon, especially in SROs, rooming houses, and other low-income housing, that tenants are afraid to (or don’t know how to) demand help with the problem.

Although many tenants in the building are suffering with the problem, Jebb said not all of them are willing to speak up about it.

Thank goodness Jebb was willing to go to bat:

It is partly for the “little guy” that Jebb said he decided to put his rent money in escrow and fight the issue in court.

“If that’s what it takes to get this building under control for all these people.”

• Nashua, N.H. laws may change in part based on recent bed bug cases there
• Still more from Nashua, New Hampshire: fewer bed bugs at 23-25 Temple St.
• Nashua, NH Health Officers on prowl for bed bugs
• More bad news about Denver’s bed bug-infested Halcyon House

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