By Lisa Autz
The city Department of Health in Long Island City — the same agency responsible for preventing bedbug infestations — has a bedbug problem itself, sources told the New York Post.
At least five floors at the Queensboro Plaza location have been affected by the blood-sucking insects, sources told the newspaper, but employees complained that agency managers were not being upfront with employees about the bedbugs..
In a statement issued Wednesday, the agency said “there has been no evidence of a bedbug infestation at the Health Department ever.”
It went on to say that the building’s exterminator tackled the problem promptly, employees were notified by their supervisor and standard procedures were use to clean the area.
The agency acknowledged to the Post that a “small number” of bedbugs were found, but claimed there was no evidence of an infestation and characterized the bedbugs as likely “hitchhikers.”
Last September, the discovery of a single bedbug led to the evacuation and fumigation of the entire 19th floor at the headquarters at 42-09 28th St. The agency played down the event by issuing a similar statement to the latest one: “We found a single bedbug. There was no evidence of an infestation. We used standard procedures, including steam cleaning and vacuuming in the area, and alerted the staff.”
The Health Department is the city’s top resource for fighting bedbugs. A section of its website is dedicated to bedbugs and includes preventive measures for landlords, building owners and commercial buildings.
A Myths and Facts section explains that “anyone can get bedbugs.”
