Addabbo: “Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite!”

Queens, NY, February 7, 2011 – On Thursday, February 17 at 7 p.m., NYS Senator
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. and Assemblyman Michael Miller are sponsoring a free seminar
providing important information from the experts on how to prevent, identify, or get
rid of, the spreading problem of bedbug infestations.  If you or someone you know is
concerned with the issue of bedbugs, come to the event at Emanuel United Church of
Christ, 93-12 91st Avenue (off Woodhaven Blvd., near Atlantic Avenue) featuring speakers
from the NYC Department of Health, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development,
and local pest control business owner William Puricelli of Advanced Pest Management
Services.
 
Addabbo notes, “I want to thank these experts for providing timely information to my
constituents -- homeowners, tenants or landlords -- who are afraid that the city’s bedbug
plague will hit their buildings.” The Senator points out that it has been reported that
the city had logged 12,768 bedbug complaints for 2009, with bedbug violations issued by
HPD inspectors exploding from 82 in 2004 to 4,808 in that same year. In 2010,
exterminators were extremely busy, as the nasty critters temporarily shut down businesses,
forced residents to move, and left beleaguered New Yorkers suffering from red welts and
bites. Some local movie theaters, offices and hotels also reported being visited by the
bugs.
 
Adds Miller, “The citywide fight against bedbugs will be won one home at a time. Winning
the battle can save you thousands of dollars, and information is your best weapon.”
 
According to local certified entomologists and exterminators, bedbug removal is one of
the most difficult and costly tasks in the pest control industry. Landlords have been
known to spend up to $80,000 to get large buildings bedbug free. Adding to landlords’
woes of dealing with these pests is the “Bedbug Disclosure Act,” a new citywide law
that took effect August 30, 2010, which requires landlords to notify prospective tenants
about any infestations in the building within the previous year. The law’s stated goal
is to suppress the bedbug epidemic by giving “landlords an incentive to comply with their
legal obligations to eradicate” infestations. However, the disclosure act fails to
include any legal or financial penalties for landlords who do not comply. For more
information about this free local event, please call Senator Addabbo’s Howard Beach
district office at 718-738-1111, his Middle Village satellite office at 718-497-1630,
or Assemblyman Miller’s Woodhaven district office at 718-805-0950.