NYC Bed Bug Registry Infestation Maps, Residential and Hotel

Report: New York Removing 28,560 Cars From The Roads, Should You Worry  Hudson Valley Post

Here is the original post:
Report: New York Removing 28,560 Cars From The Roads, Should You Worry - Hudson Valley Post

These Are The 10 U.S. Cities To Avoid If You Dont Want Bedbugs  Only In Your State

Read more here:
These Are The 10 U.S. Cities To Avoid If You Dont Want Bedbugs - Only In Your State

This Texas City Is Ranked As The Third Most Bed Bug Infested City in America  News/Talk 790 KFYO

Read the rest here:
This Texas City Is Ranked As The Third Most Bed Bug Infested City in America - News/Talk 790 KFYO

Clear Your Fridge! Popular Produce Recalled in NJ and PA For Salmonella  94.5 PST

Go here to read the rest:
Clear Your Fridge! Popular Produce Recalled in NJ and PA For Salmonella - 94.5 PST

KY and TN Cities Appear on Annual Most Bed Bugs List  WBKR

Here is the original post:
KY and TN Cities Appear on Annual Most Bed Bugs List - WBKR

Identifying Bug Bites: How to Figure Out What Bit You  The Healthy

Follow this link:
Identifying Bug Bites: How to Figure Out What Bit You - The Healthy

NYC nears top of the list for worst bed bug cities but once city was worse (again)  NBC New York

Read more from the original source:
NYC nears top of the list for worst bed bug cities but once city was worse (again) - NBC New York

Bed bugs are small insects that feed mainly on human blood. Bed bug infestations are increasingly common in New York City. Bed bugs can enter homes by latching onto used furniture, luggage and clothing, and by traveling along connecting pipes and wiring. Left untreated, bed bugs can spread quickly.

Property owners are required to address bed bug infestations promptly. The surest strategies to keep bed bugs from spreading are prevention, early detection, and rapid treatment. To learn more, see the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)Preventing and Getting Rid of Bedbugs Safelyguide.

Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal its answer.

Tenants should report the presence of bed bugs to the property owner. If the property owner does not address the condition, file a complaint online or call 311.

When calling 311 to make a bed bug complaint, the caller may be asked by the 311 operator about whether it would be acceptable for HPD to bring a dog trained to sniff out bed bugs to participate in an inspection (note that even if requested, the dog may not accompany an Inspector). Whether or not a dog is present during an inspection, an HPD Inspector will conduct a visual inspection. Violations will be issued if the Inspector is able to visually confirm the presence of live bed bugs.

Listen to this podcast to learn more about bed bug-sniffing dogs and when HPD brings them into homes to investigate a possible bed bug infestation in this podcast.

Property Owner Requirements

The Housing Maintenance Code and Health Code both require that property owners address infestations promptly.

The surest strategies to keep bed bugs from spreading are prevention, early detection, and rapid treatment. To learn more, see the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)Preventing and Getting Rid of Bedbugs Safelyguide.

Bed bug infestations usually require the services of well-trained, licensed pest management professionals, also called exterminators. New York State law requires that property owners hire only pest control professionals licensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)to treat apartments for bed bugs. The pest control professional should perform an inspection to confirm the presence of bed bugs and to eliminate bed bugs, if necessary. Property owners are expected to make follow-up visits to ensure that there are no signs of a bed bug infestation.

Property owners of rental residential properties are now required to file a Bed Bug Annual Report. See the Bed Bug Annual Report Requirement section of this webpage for the additional requirements. Once the Bed Bug Annual Report has been filed, the property owner is required to either provide the filing receipt to each tenant (upon commencement of a new lease and with each lease renewal) OR post the filing receipt in a prominent location in the building. In addition, the property owner must either distribute to each tenant or post the DOHMHPreventing and Getting Rid of Bedbugs Safelyguide, which provides information on the prevention, detection, and removal of bedbugs.

Bed Bug Annual Report Requirement

Local Law 69 of 2017 requires that all multiple dwelling property owners must attempt to obtain the bed bug infestation history from the tenant or unit owner, including whether eradication measures were employed for a bedbug infestation.

Complete your Annual Bed Bug Report. Pursuant to the law, HPD will make the submitted information publicly available through HPDONLINE.

The online application will only allow validly registered property owners and managing agents of multiple dwellings to disclose bedbug infestation history. A buildings property registration must be current. If you have not registered your property, please do so by visitingProperty Registration.

Based on public feedback, HPD made a paper form available for property owners who are not able to file electronically due to lack of email or access to a computer. HPD is adopting rules that will clarify that only non-corporate owners, who generally own smaller buildings and may have less available resources for electronic submission, may submit paper reports, as well as clarifying that submission of paper bedbug reports by corporate owners will be rejected and the submission will be deemed noncompliant. Corporate owners, including corporations, LLCs, condominium corporations, cooperatives, and other corporate ownership types must use the electronic form as stated in section 27-2018.2

This adopted rule will make it easier for smaller property owners to file the required bedbug reports while ensuring that corporate property owners continue to meet the electronic filing requirements.

Property owners will be required to file annually between December 1and December 31 for the previous year from November 1 through October 31.

Property owners will be required to report the following information:

When submitting, the owner will certify that either:

Once the Bed Bug Annual Report has been filed, the property owner is required to either provide the filing receipt to each tenant (upon commencement of a new lease and with each lease renewal) OR post the filing receipt in a prominent location in the building. In addition, the property owner must either distribute to each tenant or post the DOHMH's Stop Bed Bugs Safelyguide, which provides information on the prevention, detection, and removal of bedbugs.

If you do not have access to a computer or email, you can file a report using the Bed Bug Annual Filing Form. Please follow all instructions carefully. The Form is also available in the following languages:

Please note that New York State law requires property owners to disclose bedbug infestation history dating back one year to new tenants through theBedbug Disclosure Form. For more information, visit theNYS Homes and Community Renewalwebsite.

Questions?See theBedbugs Annual Report FAQs.

Tenants should report the presence of bed bugs to the property owner. If the property owner does not address the condition, file a complaint online or call 311.

HPD provides a special service for the inspection of bedbugs: HPDs Canine Unit. The beagles are available to assist a team of Code Enforcement Inspectors who have been trained to work with them. The Canine Unit will respond to bedbug complaints where the 311 operator has confirmed that the tenant would like to have the inspection performed by a dog; although not every such complaint can be inspected by the Canine Unit. The dogs were trained at an accredited facility to alert by sitting when they detect live bedbugs or viable eggs. The findings are confirmed by visual inspection before a violation is issued.

If the HPD inspector finds bedbugs, the property owner is issued an HPD Notice of Violation (NOV) ordering that the condition be addressed. When a NOV is issued by HPD, the property owner also receives a DOHMH Order of the Commissioner. The Commissioners order provides property owners more detail on the requirements for addressing bedbugs, including:

Certification of HPD's NOV is the only required notification back to the City that the condition has been corrected as instructed. There is no response directly to the DOHMH. The HPD Certification of Correction requires a sworn statement that the above corrective actions have been taken, in compliance with the DOHMH Commissioners Order.For information about completing your certification documents for HPD, you can contact your Borough Service Center or certify online usingeCertification.

See original here:
Bedbugs - HPD - New York City

Workers at the New York City Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the Meatpacking District have been on strike since the beginning of last week against unsafe work conditions and the multi-billion dollar corporations refusal to bargain in good faith with the union for a first contract. The striking workers note how managers at one of Starbuckss flagship stores refuse to address work conditions that are proving to be health hazards: the store had a recent outbreak of bedbugs in the break room and there has been black mold in the ice machines for months.

Two workers who spoke with Left Voice under conditions of anonymity described how management instructed them to discard any ice with mold in it and carry on, without addressing the root of the problem. When the bedbug infestation happened, workers were asked to remove their belongings from the break room, but were not told why. It was only days later that they learnt of the bed bug infestation; the fumigation and cleaning for which, workers believe, were substandard.

One worker, Laura Garza, says, I myself have gotten sick from attempting to clean the mold from the ice machine without proper training, and the bed bugs were just the last straw for us. We cannot risk bringing that home.

Workers United, the union representative of the workers, filed an OSHA complaint against the facility as well as a national Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over the failure to bargain and listed the Roastery and 151 other locations where Starbucks has refused to begin bargaining.

Workers at this Starbucks Reserve Roastery many of who are young, queer, women were the first Starbucks shop in NYC to unionize, winning their union election on April 1 of this year. They are one of twelve Starbucks locations to have unionized in downstate New York, and one of seven in the city. Nationally, over 250 Starbucks stores have elected to unionize. With over a 100 workers at this location, this is one of the bigger shops to have unionized nationally.

Although it has been months since they won their elections, workers at the Roastery, like other unionized stores across the country, still dont have a first contract as Starbucks refuses to bargain in good faith with workers while continuing their union-busting practices. The company is facing over 300 unfair labor practice charges, and NLRB offices around the country have issued Starbucks over 35 official complaints, citing it for coercing, threatening, and firing employees over union activities and withholding wage increases and benefits from unionizing stores. Since the wave of unionization at the coffee giant began, Starbucks has fired over 100 workers who were organizing for a union.

Although the store has over 100 workers, not everyone is out on the picket lines, with many fearing retaliation from management. At the Roastery and every other store that has unionized or is seeking a path towards unionization, management has worked overtime to maintain an air of fear, often even depriving workers of knowledge of their rights and that they have a union. But, since the strike began at Roastery, workers have been picketing outside the facility every day, forcing it to close early the last few evenings. Workers at the picket also spoke about how management was bringing in scabs from the yet-to-open Empire State Building location to work at the store.

Workers at Starbucks make hundreds of dollars worth of beverages every hour, creating value far beyond what they are compensated for. The companys massive profits are a direct product of workers labor. For striking workers, it is essential to expand, mobilize, and use this power of the shop floor to fight not just for safe conditions, but against every injustice suffered under Starbuckss management and beyond.

Sou Mi is an activist based in New York City.

View original post here:
The Bed Bugs Were the Last Straw for Us: Starbucks Workers at the NYC ...

The resources on this page can help you prevent bedbug infestations and safely control them when they occur.

Bedbugs can enter homes by latching on to used furniture, luggage, clothing and by traveling along connecting pipes and wiring.

Ask your landlord or building manager to seal any cracks and crevices to prevent bedbugs and other pests from entering the home. Never take in furniture found on the street. If you think you have been around bedbugs, immediately wash and dry your clothing for at least 30 minutes on high heat, or store them in a sealed plastic bag until you can wash them

Provide tenants with information on how to identify and prevent bedbugs. Help tenants if they cannot move furniture themselves or need help getting rid of clutter.

Encourage tenants to report bedbugs as soon as they think they have a problem. If an apartment is found to have bedbugs, notify and inspect all units that are across, above and below the infested one.

Hire a pest management professional to treat for bedbugs. Give advance notice to tenants of the planned use of pesticides. Be wary of companies that make unrealistic claims about controlling infestations with just one visit. Seek a company that provides a warranty as well as a follow up visit.

Inspect your units after vacancy. Make sure vacant units are thoroughly cleaned and free of pests before a new tenant moves in.

Tenants in New York City have the right to a bedbug-free environment. Bedbugs are specifically named in the list of insects that building owners are legally required to eradicate.

New York City lists bedbugs as a Class B violation. This means they are considered hazardous. The landlord has 30 days to correct this problem. The landlord must get rid of the infestation and keep the affected units from getting infested again.

Property owners must provide tenants with a written bedbug history notice (PDF). This should disclose any bedbug infestations that have occurred in their building in the past year.

You can file a bedbug complaint online or by calling 311.

See the original post here:
Bedbugs: Information for Tenants and Building Owners - NYC Health