To Open Homeless Shelters, N.Y.C. Relied on Landlord With Checkered History – The New York Times
Click Free Pest Control Quote
to fill in a form to obtain a free pest control quote today.
In addition to owning dozens of buildings used as shelters, Mr. Levitan has another source of steady revenue: He operates a for-profit maintenance company, Liberty One, that performs upkeep at many of his properties. At the building he bought in 2018 in College Point, Queens, the maintenance company was paid more than $800,000 in the last fiscal year money that also comes from the city, according to budget documents.
City contracting rules require the nonprofit groups running shelters to control costs by soliciting at least three independent bids for services. But in two cases identified in an independent audit and a lease Mr. Levitan required nonprofit groups to use his company without bidding, The Times found.
Mr. Levitan said there was zero requirement that nonprofit groups hire his company. However, Mr. McGinn, the city spokesman, said a review, done in response to questions from The Times, had discovered such a provision in one groups lease. He called the arrangement inappropriate and said it would be changed.
Mr. Levitan also owns an extermination company used in at least one of the new shelters, according to city records and a corporate disclosure. When ants infested some rooms in the building in the Mott Haven neighborhood in the Bronx, his company, Squash Exterminating, was called in to help.
Mr. Levitan said he started both the maintenance and the extermination company to streamline operations and provide better services.
In the more than two decades that he has been enmeshed in New Yorks homelessness machinery, Mr. Levitan has been repeatedly accused of neglect and poor conditions at some of his buildings.
In 2014, elected officials battled a plan to open a permanent shelter in Elmhurst, Queens, in the former Pan American hotel, which was owned by a limited liability company connected to Mr. Levitan. Residents of that building, which housed hundreds of homeless families, reported infestations of bedbugs, peeling lead paint and a lack of heat or hot water. The New York Daily News published a video, provided by tenants, of a growing horde of rats near a childrens play area.
Read more from the original source:
To Open Homeless Shelters, N.Y.C. Relied on Landlord With Checkered History - The New York Times
- Bed bugs and moldy ice: NYC Starbucks workers strike over alleged ... - December 16th, 2022
- How to Move Without Taking Roaches (and Other Pests) With You - Lifehacker - August 13th, 2022
- Pick Me! Renters offer landlords and agents free stuff to beat the competition for NYC apartments - Brick Underground - June 30th, 2022
- Can My Co-op Charge Me to Get Rid of the Bedbugs in My Apartment? - The New York Times - June 11th, 2022
- NYC sues 'worst' landlord who has racked up over 1,900 violations - 6Sqft - April 6th, 2022
- 5 Signs You Don't Have Bed Bugs - Glen Environmental - November 4th, 2021
- Heres Why I Opted for Furniture Rental - Yahoo News - November 4th, 2021
- Bed bug bites: Air India offers waiver rather than refund to the tourist - BOL News - October 12th, 2021
- The Pests That Are The Top Most Annoying In New Jersey - 943thepoint.com - August 13th, 2021
- Manhattan | Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Semi Trucks | Bed Bugs ... - May 31st, 2021
- Bed Bug Exterminator Manhattan - May 31st, 2021
- Road trip at the dawn of an era: Women drive cross-country in 1909 - NorthJersey.com - May 11th, 2021
- Baltimore Comes In Second On Orkin's List Of Cities With Most Bed Bugs - Yahoo News - February 4th, 2021
- The Road: 100 Days of Travel in Pandemic Ravaged America - Rolling Stone - December 28th, 2020
- NYC building residents itching for court to solve bedbug ... - November 8th, 2020
- BED BUGS IN NEW YORK STATE Bed Bugs - October 1st, 2020
- Bed Bugs | Manhattan Pest Control, Exterminator and Bed ... - September 6th, 2020
- This Central Park Hotel is Crawling with Bed Bugs - September 4th, 2020
- Bed Bugs Schools | Bell Environmental - September 4th, 2020
- How to find out if your building or hotel has bed bugs ... - August 30th, 2020
- The 10 Best Bed Bug Exterminators Near Me (with Free ... - August 28th, 2020
- There are bugs worse than the 'murder hornet': Canada's ... - August 28th, 2020
- New York City Bed Bug Registry Maps & Database NYC Bed ... - August 16th, 2020
- Bed Bug Exterminator NYC, Manhattan NY | Bed Bug Control ... - August 14th, 2020
- Bed Bug Hiding Places : Bed Bugs : NYC Exterminator : NYC ... - July 7th, 2020
- New York City NY Bed bug Hotel and Apartment Reports - June 30th, 2020
- Battling Bed Bugs | Archive | July / August 2009 | Habitat ... - May 17th, 2020
- Bed Bugs in New York City - The Web's #1 Bed Bug Resource - May 8th, 2020
- Up to 2.7 Million in New York May Have Been Infected, Antibody Study Finds - NBC New York - April 24th, 2020
- How to Stop Rats from Taking Over a City - The National Interest - March 23rd, 2020
- Planning a Vacation? Here's How to Make Sure You Don't Bring Any Bed Bugs Home With You - Mental Floss - March 4th, 2020
- New Yorks Worst Bedbug Neighborhoods - The New York Times - February 19th, 2020
- The Off Broadway Alliance to Present Panel Discussion WHAT THINGS COST: BUDGETING YOUR OFF BROADWAY SHOW - Broadway World - February 14th, 2020
- Worried About Bed Bugs in NYC? Treatment & Signs in New ... - February 12th, 2020
- Dead homeless man found covered in bed bugs on subway train - New York Post - January 23rd, 2020
- Bail reform pits de Blasio against progressives Cuomo budget targets health care costs Shelly Silver's conviction partially overturned - Politico - January 22nd, 2020
- Your daily 6: Iranians vow revenge, bedbugs freed in Walmart and Golden Globe awards and red carpet - STLtoday.com - January 6th, 2020
- Humans Are Driving the Evolution of Urban Rats - Undark Magazine - December 18th, 2019
- Super rats or sickly rodents? Our war against urban rats could be leading to swift evolutionary changes - The Conversation US - December 17th, 2019
- New York, United States Bed Bug Registry Map Bed Bug ... - December 13th, 2019
- Making Proactive Bed Bug Control Programs Work - PCT - PCT Magazine - November 29th, 2019
- Brooklyn Today: 'Overworked and underpaid' - Brooklyn Daily Eagle - November 15th, 2019
- Hotel Bedbugs: Check Registry of Hotels for Bed Bugs - March 4th, 2019
- HPD Bed Bugs New York City NYC Bed Bug Registry ... - February 18th, 2019
- Can Dogs Carry Bed Bugs? - thebedbuginspectors.com - January 29th, 2019
- Are Bed Bugs in the Walls? | Bed Bug Exterminator NYC | 24 ... - January 29th, 2019
- BedBug Chasers of Manhattan - Get Rid of Bed Bugs BedBug ... - January 16th, 2019
- The 10 Best Bed Bug Exterminators in Manhattan (with Free ... - November 9th, 2018
- California Bed Bug Hotel and Apartment Reports ... - October 13th, 2018
- The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel - 378 Photos & 537 ... - October 11th, 2018
- Bedbug Registry: Recent Bed Bug Reports for New York City - October 11th, 2018
- Bedbugs Information for Homeowners & Tenants - October 11th, 2018
- New York City Bed Bug Registry Maps & Database NYC Bed Bug ... - October 11th, 2018
- Bedbug Registry A Directory Of Places Not To ... - Nodal Bits - October 11th, 2018
- Alpha Bed Bug Exterminator NYC - Manhattan | Treatment ... - October 11th, 2018
- Bed Bugs Or Bat Bugs? Get Bats Out Bat Removal Experts ... - October 10th, 2018
- Why You Need a Bed bug Exterminator in Manhattan - October 10th, 2018
- Bed Bug Exterminator NYC - Pest Control Services NYC NJ - October 10th, 2018
- Bed Bug Exterminator NYC | Extermination Treatment & Removal ... - October 10th, 2018
- Bed Bug Laundry NYC - Reclaim Your Home from Bed Bugs Now! - October 10th, 2018
- Residence Life: Bed Bug Info: Marymount Manhattan College - October 10th, 2018
- Bed Bugs - Welcome to NYC.gov | City of New York - October 4th, 2018
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment: Healthy Homes ... - July 5th, 2018
- Bed Bugs | City of New York - July 2nd, 2018
- World, Bed Bug Registry Map Bed Bug Infestation Reports ... - June 17th, 2018
- New York City: Bed Bugs in Hotels - TripAdvisor - June 3rd, 2018
- New York NY Bed bug Hotel and Apartment Reports - May 26th, 2018
- Bed Bugs - New York City - May 24th, 2018
- How Do You Get Bed Bugs? 7 Common Causes of Bed Bugs - May 3rd, 2018
- 5-Star Pest Control NYC & Bed Bug Removal | Broadway ... - April 15th, 2018
- How to Prevent Bed Bugs Anywhere You Go: Bed Bug Proof ... - April 2nd, 2018
- Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter NYC? - February 22nd, 2018
- The Best Bed Bug Exterminators in Manhattan, KS (with Free ... - February 6th, 2018
- Here's Why Bed Bugs Are So Hard To Get Rid Of - YouTube - December 9th, 2017
- Bed Bugs Exterminator Manhattan NYC: Manhattan Pest Control - December 7th, 2017
- What Do Bed Bugs Look Like? | Live Examples of What Bed ... - November 30th, 2017
- Early Signs of Bed Bugs | Healthfully - October 25th, 2017
- Manhattan Bed Bug Map | Bedbugs Exterminator Staten Island - October 22nd, 2017
- Are Bed Bugs in the Walls? | The Bed Bug Inspectors - October 20th, 2017
- Bed bugs | United Federation of Teachers - October 4th, 2017
Click Free Exterminator Quote
to fill in a form to obtain a free exterminator quote today.