A New York resident shared this letter.

November 24, 2009

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, New York 10007

RE: Bedbugs, Small (and Large) Business and New York City

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

[...]; I am a filmmaker and small business owner [...] I am writing to urge you to find a way to begin to seriously combat the bedbug epidemic that is taking over New York City.

I do not have bedbugs in my current apartment but I did have a relatively small issue with them when I lived in Williamsburg five years ago. My wife and I beat them at that time, but not without a lot of time, effort and expense.

The reason I am writing now is that I have two employees that are experiencing bedbug infestations in their homes. Neither can come into to work while they’re dealing with the issue; both are spending considerable amounts of time and money to combat it. Obviously, their issues are now costing me time and money also because the projects they are assigned to will remain stopped for a week or more while each is out.

In addition, I have had to engage an exterminator for my office as a preventative measure and I’ve spent a considerable amount of my own time assisting my employees so that their problems don’t spread to the office and the others that work here (or to myself and my family.) These efforts will have to continue for the foreseeable future.

For some time, bedbugs have been more than a simple nuisance in New York City. I believe they now are on the verge of having a major impact on the economy as well, whether through stories like mine, diminished tourism (all of the hotels are infested) or other reasons associated with business productivity. I am considering relocation in part because I don’t feel like the city is dealing with this issue in a realistic or aggressive manner. We need to see more education, laws and a real plan to attack to combat what has become a modern-day scourge. I understand that even major corporations (and Bill Clinton himself) have had to spend considerable time and money to rid their offices of bedbug infestations. It only goes to reason that if this problem is not addressed in a major way very soon, many people and businesses will simply begin to leave.

Please let me (and the rest of New York) know how you plan to attack this problem.

Best regards,

[...]

For some people — I am given to understand — the whole bed bug experience is quickly and efficiently dispatched. For others, as you see, it can be a disruptive event of great significance. I’m not sure what the secret is — if I did I would share.

New York vs Bed Bugs doesn’t have an active letter writing campaign at the moment. (We did in the past.) Nevertheless, I will ask you again in the spring, when the bed bug advisory board’s report is due.