Note: The New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board report was released on July 28: New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board Report (April 2010) (PDF).
There is no bed bug task force. What the city created was a bed bug advisory board.
I have no good answers to the following questions:
- what is happening with the
bed bug task forcebed bug advisory board? - what is the bed bug advisory board’s position/advice on X?
- where can I read the report of the NYC bed bug advisory board?
The board met for six months and submitted its recommendations on April 1st.
At this point it is not realistic to expect meaningful action on the board’s recommendations, or even for the board’s report to be made public.
If you want to read the report of the NYC Bed Bug Advisory Board, you should probably file a Freedom of Information Law request. (You’d need to find the records access officer for the Mayor’s Office and/or City Council. The name of the document you want to request is: Recommendations for the Management of Bed Bugs in New York City, New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board, Report to the Mayor and City Council, April 2010.)
Where do I think this leaves New York City? If the question is bed bugs then the all-purpose answer is nobody cares. (The most notable and enduring exception will always be Council Member Gale Brewer.)
For now you should forget the idea of a bed bug task force.
What else is there?
There are two avenues that remain open even if they are unlikely to be productive in the city’s present administration and bed bug environment (one has to call it something).
It seems certain that lawmakers will continue to eye the contours—the ‘no fiscal impact’ contours at least—of the bed bug problem for legislative opportunities. But what is necessary for such efforts to succeed is a difficult process of broad consultation of all stakeholders. The New Jersey bed bug bill is an example of the kind of consensus-based approach that, for all its challenges, is at least grounded in a solid hearing of the issues. Efforts to date in the New York State Assembly have not been developed with this approach and are, in my view, likely to founder. Then there is the question of the need for strong public support, which cannot be taken for granted in the current environment of widespread stigma. If this were some other issue, some other pest, at this level of impact, there would already be laws and task forces galore.
Another possibility is public/private collaborative entities formed to provide advice and technical expertise. The most recently announced example is the Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs. Could there ever be an analogue in New York City? For the moment I have to say there is very little chance of it.
Since you have read this far, did you catch the EPA calling bed bugs an environmental justice issue? Now there is some news, surely. Note too that in a recent article EPA officials broadly outlined what they intend to do.
Will the biggest city with the biggest bed bug problem just forego any possible assistance due to the simple fact of having no official interest? I’m not sure, presumably others could apply for any grants should they become available. But it seems a definite possibility.
Our days of asking you to write letters are over. But I felt this explanation was overdue.
These pages may be of related interest:
Interesting and I suspect things won’t get better any time soon.