I am a 37-year old woman who lives in Long Island City on 38th Avenue near the Keyspan plant in a two family house my husband bought about 4 years ago.
My street is a very interesting one.
Prostitutes! What's up with the prostitution in Long Island City? When is it going to go away? I have actually seen the cops pull up next to the prostitutes, say a few words and DRIVE OFF. One day recently I was in a nail salon on 41st Avenue and a prostitute was being beaten by one of her johns next door! It was so loud the ladies called the police. They brought them out and began talking to the guy, but let the prostitute slip away! I see her every day! Doesn't anyone think this is a problem???
Rats! When my husband bought our house, I don't think he was aware that our block may not have been the nicest block to buy a home on. All he was thinking was that Long Island City was the new 'hot' place to invest, and our house was the only one with a back yard. He created a beautiful garden complete with hydrangea bushes, butterfly bushes, and bamboo trees. It's really lovely, but I can't even go back there to enjoy it! Why? We suddenly have a serious rat problem in the backyard. Yes, rats! It's really disgusting! And I'm beside myself with anxiety about it.Our housemates who live downstairs recently attempted to have a barbecue out there and during the party, a rat ran across someone's foot!!!
We called the exterminator who came on Monday and put out several bait boxes filled with poison and poison dust in their burrows.
When I got up yesterday morning I decided to take a peek at the backyard from my bathroom window. I guess I was hoping to see a dead rat or two. Well, I saw two, but they were very much alive, running and jumping and playing like bunnies. One was even munching on grass (I guess we have vegetarian rats)...again this morning when I looked! I even saw one really huge one and I seriously almost barfed! So I called the exterminator again on my way to work and he said that with rats it takes time for them to get curious enough about the bait boxes and that it might take a week or so, but to call him and keep him posted...
Yesterday I was so upset, I decided to have a chat with one of the guys from the auto body shop next door as I was leaving for work. I wanted to know if they were also having a problem. The answer was a big hearty YES! They have been having a serious problem since January (at least). They eventually called the exterminator after the rats had gotten so bold as to get into the cars at night and start chewing through the wires! They had even eaten their way through the concrete in one section of the shop to the point where the floor was begining to cave in. He said it's just a really bad problem on our street and at night it's even worse. He added, much to my dismay, that one of the people down the block says they've found their way into her house. So I told him to please, please call the exterminator again because we just had and MAYBE we could make the problem a little better in our little area if we were both proactive in the rat killing....
But really, this seems to be a problem that will take a lot of effort to get rid of. It's a little bit bigger than us and the autobody shop, so I decided to also call 311 and I placed a report with the department of health/human services. Ultimately they need to do a sweep of the neighborhood or they will just get worse, or at the very least, just keep coming back...
What's most annoying about both of these problems is not only does it diminish my quality of life, is that if feels like nobody cares. We aren't on Vernon or on the waterfront. We are sandwiched between the Keyspan plant and Queensbridge projects and it's like our area doesn't matter and that sucks. Anything goes where we are. I'm a homeowner, an artist, a working professional, so is my husband. When I think about that fact that we are trying to start a family here it makes me a little ill.
I'm hoping you will help get the word out and maybe something will get done! - Anonymous
23 comments:
Lets take a look at what the official sources of information in your community says:
W Queens Gazette, astorians.com, Onorato, East River Developmet, Gianaris ....
nope, nothing about this.
They do say that bike lanes are important, and that your community finally needs real people that will finally be brought in with massive waterfront development and oh, yes, a bank and a place to kayack.
Nothing about lousy services, rats, or prosties.
Sorry.
Why dont you write a letter to the local newspaper, and post on astorians.com. The latter might notice you between ripping out the Pistilli apartment they just bought and bangaldeshi takeout reviews.
Send a copy to crappy. Then lets sit back and see the fun start.
CB1 the communtiy board from hell
Its Con Ed's fault. And those damn stockholders.
Then is Pitaki's fault.
and Bloombergs fault.
and Bush's fault.
but never, goodgod never, blame this on anyone who is really responsible, your local officals.
The Doorman (team Gioia) says hunger is a real problem in your community.
He is getting a lot of coverage on this.
Funny, they don't bother asking his constituents what they need but that is ok, they would find one who bikes to his kayack launch site.
Whose fault is it?
You might try to raise your family, work and pay taxes, and sweep the sidewalk and wonder what happened to the system that is to serve your interests.
Who does it serve?
Its those damn indolent wall street types that waste the day milking the system and sipping gin as they watch the summer squalls move across the bay.
I'm sorry to hear of the problems you are facing in your neighborhood. I would definitely take it up with as many city agencies & media outlets you can until the situation gets resolved.
Once rats make a living somewhere, it is usually a long battle to get rid of them. Most times they win :(
I'm sorry to hear of the problems you are facing in your neighborhood. I would definitely take it up with as many city agencies & media outlets you can until the situation gets resolved.
I too face similar issues but are more descrete on my block. I also own my dwelling and find Mr Bloomberg has dececided to toss and allow all illegals to live here in dwellings illegally converted and in return turns a blind eye to anything that goes on here. All this to insure Manhattan does not have these problems and that we middle class put up and shut up to live in Queens - keep up the fight - it's a long haul but it your property, family whom deserve much more - keep demanding it and exposing the problems on your block and neighborhood. Don't let Mr Bloomberg wear you down, otherwise he and the Manhattanites win in the long haul.
"I'm hoping you will help get the word out and maybe something will get done! - Anonymous"
Yes Anonymous complaints to a blog always work. That's the big problem with QC.
Too many people want everything to come to them, without their ever having to lift a finger, other than to rant on a message / discussion board. They vent their own crap, argue, bitch, point fingers, act like a child, and call people and groups of people derogatory names, have no idea what they are talking about, and never once stop to look in the mirror, to see who the cause of their problems really are - themselves.
If you think you have little voice with them; well you do have little voice with them, if you don’t get involved. You don’t know who they are, because they don’t know you exist. Don’t criticize those who do get involved, if you’re not going to put the effort in, to even find out about what community government and organizations there are, and what they do.
Yes, it's this lady's fault there are rats and prosties in LIC. Even though she called an exterminator and 311 about the problem and said the police are well aware of the prostitution problem.
There aren't any rats or prostitutes in LIC where all the new condos are going up. The new development really cleaned up that area.
rats and hookers:
two things that society could do without
There aren't any rats or prostitutes in LIC where all the new condos are going up, YET. The new development really cleaned up that area.
Too bad no one is buying them. In light of that how long do you think it will take for the prosties and rats to move in? I am sure they already have their moving vans ready to go.
"There aren't any rats or prostitutes in LIC where all the new condos are going up. The new development really cleaned up that area."
HA HA HA HA have you been to Gantry Park lately? Who are you kidding? Every place near the shore is going to have rats.
Go to the hardware store and buy about 20 Steel-Pin-Trap Rat traps (oversized mouse traps). Use peanut butter as bait and set them around your property. Be careful handling and setting the rat traps. They pack a powerful wallop.
Sounds like you need to send this or a similar letter to every local representative you can track down (and make some follow-up calls after it's sent). I'd also try talking directly to the Department of Public Health and local community board.
The only other thing you can really do is rat-proof your home as best you can. Make sure to plug up any holes (even small ones) around your house, keep your garbage and all food tightly sealed, fix any leaks, etc.
Good luck.
New buildings and an obsession with "growth": something LIC and Queens can do without!
Did she even look at the neighborhood before she bought there? Apparently not. Who in their right mind would buy something over there?
A message to the next Mayor, do not try to build a legacy for yourself just provide us with three things: good basic services that keep the city clean, safe and taxes low. You will be a great Mayor!
there have been prostitutes in the queensbridge/LIC area ever since i moved to queens 15+ years ago, and trust me... the situation is much better than it used to be. back then you couldn't pull off the bridge onto 21st street with out seeing several hookers (most of them trannies) on the corner.
my advise.. start pimping, and get yourself a cat
do you think any of those hookers are trannies?
if you answered yes, then do you ever wonder if any of the johns know or even care?
There have been hookers and rats in LIC for mor than 50 years.
I was born and raised in LIC - the hookers were moved from Hunter Street to under the el.
When I worked on 44th Road - second floor - we would watch the hookers outside at work during the day.
On the rats ... we would hear them moving from building to building in the walls - on that historic block - 45th Avenue - where I lived as a kid.
We had 8 houses in our family between 44th drive (one was just taken down last year to make way for the new building across from Citibank - was one of the few left)
I have no regrets for not keeping one of those that had been in the family - profit or not.
In other words, I wouldn't live in that rat hole if you paid me
Fuck you hipster scum !!
Artist, yea right, maybe bullshit artist motherfucker !!
Post a Comment