NEW YORK—After a few isolated bed bug problems in past years, including one that alerted customers of a high-end hotel in Manhattan, problems surfaced this year in retail stores, where neither New Yorkers nor tourists would have expected to have to worry about the insidious insects.
The popular baby supply store Buy Buy Baby at 25th Street and Seventh Avenue was infested reported NY1, one week after an Abercrombie and Fitch Company-owned “Hollister” store in SoHo had to temporarily close. The Abercrombie infestation followed another case in one of their other locations. Many of the Victoria’s Secret Stores in Manhattan, and possibly others in the outer boroughs, will be tested for bed bugs, according to NY1.
The increased occurrences justified the creation of the City’s Bedbugs Advisory Board last year. Also, as reported in the magazine Habitat, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced legislation in April “to help fight the well-documented rise in bedbug infestation across all strata of New York City residents.” The numbers are clear: nearly 11,000 calls about bedbugs were made to 311 in 2009, compared with 537 in 2004, according to the city. Confirmed infestations have also increased in New York City from 82 six years ago to 4,084 last year.
The first bill, A. 10081, was a personal income tax credit that addressed the fact that bedbug victims usually suffer a significant financial hit from the cost of replacing furniture, bedding, clothing and other belongings—because bedbugs are so hard to eradicate, the most common tactic is to simply get rid of what is infested. The tax credit would cover 15 percent of property purchased to replace discarded items, up to a maximum of $750 per person. But, this bill didn’t pass.
Another bill, A. 10356, grants prospective tenants and homeowners the right to a record of any bedbug infestation at a property. Sen. Jose Peralta (D/WF, Queens) sponsored the Senate version. The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) would enforce the law.
A separate, unrelated bill sponsored by Peralta, S. 7316B, would disallow the term “new” for bedding that was returned to a retailer within 30 days; require bedding labels to include notices that the bedding was used and sanitized, and the manner of sanitization and chemicals used; require annual inspection of bedding manufacturers; and institute changes in the way used bedding is transported, stored, and sold.
The Senate passed this bill on June 15, and the Assembly version, A. 7691, sponsored by Nelson Castro (D-67th District) of The Bronx, passed afterward. This legislation now also awaits the governor’s signature.
The Bedbug Registry bedbugregistry.com is a free, public database of bedbug infestations. Use it to check for bedbug reports before booking a hotel room or renting an apartment.
The popular baby supply store Buy Buy Baby at 25th Street and Seventh Avenue was infested reported NY1, one week after an Abercrombie and Fitch Company-owned “Hollister” store in SoHo had to temporarily close. The Abercrombie infestation followed another case in one of their other locations. Many of the Victoria’s Secret Stores in Manhattan, and possibly others in the outer boroughs, will be tested for bed bugs, according to NY1.
The increased occurrences justified the creation of the City’s Bedbugs Advisory Board last year. Also, as reported in the magazine Habitat, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced legislation in April “to help fight the well-documented rise in bedbug infestation across all strata of New York City residents.” The numbers are clear: nearly 11,000 calls about bedbugs were made to 311 in 2009, compared with 537 in 2004, according to the city. Confirmed infestations have also increased in New York City from 82 six years ago to 4,084 last year.
The first bill, A. 10081, was a personal income tax credit that addressed the fact that bedbug victims usually suffer a significant financial hit from the cost of replacing furniture, bedding, clothing and other belongings—because bedbugs are so hard to eradicate, the most common tactic is to simply get rid of what is infested. The tax credit would cover 15 percent of property purchased to replace discarded items, up to a maximum of $750 per person. But, this bill didn’t pass.
Another bill, A. 10356, grants prospective tenants and homeowners the right to a record of any bedbug infestation at a property. Sen. Jose Peralta (D/WF, Queens) sponsored the Senate version. The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) would enforce the law.
A separate, unrelated bill sponsored by Peralta, S. 7316B, would disallow the term “new” for bedding that was returned to a retailer within 30 days; require bedding labels to include notices that the bedding was used and sanitized, and the manner of sanitization and chemicals used; require annual inspection of bedding manufacturers; and institute changes in the way used bedding is transported, stored, and sold.
The Senate passed this bill on June 15, and the Assembly version, A. 7691, sponsored by Nelson Castro (D-67th District) of The Bronx, passed afterward. This legislation now also awaits the governor’s signature.
The Bedbug Registry bedbugregistry.com is a free, public database of bedbug infestations. Use it to check for bedbug reports before booking a hotel room or renting an apartment.
