The original language in the bill said “bed bug task force.” This change has not been unnoticed in the community.
Like we said, it doesn’t matter, we can still do this.
The purpose of the board is to study the health concerns of bed bugs and make specific recommendations to the mayor and to the city council, within nine months, on the “prevention and treatment of bed bug infestations throughout the city.”
Ten members
- An entomologist – appointed by the Mayor
- A pest management professional – appointed by the Mayor
- A community health professional – appointed by the Speaker
- A fourth appointee – appointed by the Mayor
- A fifth appointee – appointed by the Speaker
- Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Department of Consumer Affairs
- Department of Sanitation
- Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
- Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Here it is worth noting in light of certain knee-jerk commentary in the media that the advisory board serves without compensation.
The advisory board could have included other NYC agencies, but it does not. It is best not to dwell on what isn’t.
And better to focus on what is actually in front of us:
The report
The board will write a report for the mayor and the city council to include specific recommendations on the following:
- “Prevention and treatment of bed bug infestations in private dwellings”
- “Prevention and treatment of bed bug infestations in public accommodations and institutions, including, but not limited to, schools, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and residential shelters”
- “Tracking and reporting of bed bug infestations”
- “Disposal of bed bug infested items”
- “Bed bug training and/or education for urban pest management professionals”
- “Bed bug training and/or education for city workers”
- “The development and most effective distribution of public education and resource materials on bed bug prevention and treatment, including, but not limited to, information on the rights and responsibilities of landlords, tenants and homeowners”
This is what we want to see happen
- The board should listen and consult. Listen to the affected public and consult, everyone. This means that they should not just listen to those who will be savvy enough to arrange meetings with them, but they should listen to those who have no access to such communication channels. What we are talking about here is the people who are affected by bed bugs. It’s one thing to look at a graph that tells you that NYCHA is underserving bed bug complaints, and quite another to hear the stories of people who are calling the NYCHA maintenance line, as they should, getting tickets for their bed bug complaints, getting told that they will receive pest control visits, and getting no such visits. If you do one but not the other, you are operating on insufficient and inadequate information. Look at everything, understand everything.
- The board should make every effort to move quickly. However, we are not so worried about the 9-month span contemplated by the bill because we are hoping that there will be some immediate changes and other changes during the process. We are really banking on this, so to speak.
- For example, we want to see the following steps taken by the relevant agencies as soon as possible (under the premise that it requires no further study to take these steps, they are so self-evidently necessary):
- make 311 calls about bed bugs available in Local Law 47 reports; if you can itemize unleashed dog complaints, you can list bed bug complaints, it’s as simple as that
- put up an educational website (at the Health Department perhaps, wherever), build it as you go, do not wait nine months for it to be recommended
- clarify the law for the vast numbers of people who are still looking for this information (it looks pretty clear to us, but we’re not lawyers), fighting with their landlords, clogging housing court—we will not reduce these cases completely, but we can make a dent by simply disseminating the right information. Are there any exceptions? What are they? Who is affected? This ought to be simple. If it is complex, it can still be communicated simply. Dissemination of this information is an urgent need and there can be no convincing argument against it.
These pages may be of related interest:
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