Glendale landlord hoards tenants' trash

From CBS 2:

For tenants in one Queens building, it’s a living nightmare.

They claim their landlord hoards their trash and that the smell has caused a cascade of problems, CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported Sunday night.

Kathleen Midlaw is literally bugging out inside her Glendale apartment. It’s infested with gnats.

When she invited CBS2 to the building, Sanchez sensed the root of the problem — a horrible stench coming from the basement

Garbage, huge bags of it, were stacked up, wall to wall in the basement of the building on 65th Place. Midlaw and her neighbors blame their landlord, Maria Hlawaty. Tenants say she has been hoarding their garbage for years.

School cafeterias are kinda dirty

From PIX11:

Nearly half of New York City public school cafeterias have been slapped with serious health code violations, including rodents and insects, according to a new report.

More than 1,100 critical violations were found at nearly 700 cafeteria in 2017, NYCity News Service — a CUNY Graduate School of Journalism student news service — reported. About 20 percent of those citations were considered critical, which means they're more likely to contribute to food-borne illnesses.

There were mice, rats, roaches and flies.

Dept of Agriculture looking to lift beetle quarantine

From the Queens Chronicle:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Asian Long-Horned Beetle Project reports no new sightings in the borough for the past five years and may recommend next year that the Eastern Queens quarantine be lifted.

That’s the latest word from Joe Gittleman, project manager with the program, during a phone interview from his Long Island office.

First discovered in Brooklyn in 1996, the insect pests spread throughout Queens, beginning in Maspeth in 2003. The beetles destroy trees and the federal government fears they will get upstate and damage New York’s hardwood and maple syrup industries.

The beetles are believed to have come here from Asia in wooden packing crates that were used to ship goods from China. The containers have since been banned.

Gittleman estimates about 16,000 trees have been destroyed in the city due to the beetles.

To help prevent the spread of the bugs, the USDA uses tree climbers to locate holes left by the beetles. Inspections are also made from the ground across the borough’s quarantine area. The inspectors are now concentrating their efforts in communities east of the Van Wyck Expressway.

That will be followed by inspections in Western Queens.

Be careful with those bug bombs!

From CBS New York:

A Queens man was recovering Monday from a major scare, from a wall that collapsed on him following an explosion in the apartment next door.

The explosion shook the building at 39-20 Greenpoint Ave. in Sunnyside, Queens, and blew out the wall between apartments 1B and 1A. The gaping hole measured 10 by 12 feet.

The bricks and stucco that collapsed in a pile injured a man, although not seriously.

“The gentleman was sitting on his couch and the wall came from 1B into 1A, and it actually covered him; landed in his lap,” said FDNY Chief Ed Carney.

Carney blamed the blast on a bug bomb.

Apartment dwellers have used the foggers known as bug bombs for years to get rid of roaches and other pests But fire officials said the problem is occasionally people forget to follow the safety directions printed right on the back on the box.

Typical warnings remind users to turn off all flames, pilot lights and ignition sources. Carney said the ignition source in the Queens incident was the gas pilot light.

Utility service was cut to much of the building for more than an hour during the emergency response.

Building inspectors determined there was no dangerous structural damage, but posted vacate orders on both units until the wall that was blown out is rebuilt.

Asian Longhorned Beetle appears to be gone from Queens

From the Queens Chronicle:

Although federal officials are not declaring complete victory yet, it looks like those pesky Asian long-horned beetles have been eradicated in Queens.

Joseph Gittleman, regional project manager of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Asian Longhorned Beetle Project, told the Queens Chronicle that the closest infestation was in 2010 in Brooklyn. Because of the lack of the destructive insects, his office is re-evaluating the 10-year quarantine that Queens remains in.

It is illegal to transport wood out of the borough during the quarantine. Fines can run up to $250,000. Queens homeowners can arrange removal of branches and trees through the Sanitation Department by calling 311 and setting up a pickup date.

The wood must be bundled. All tree material must be removed by the city, even if it does not come from one of the susceptible species such as maple or sycamore.

The beetles destroy trees and the federal government fears they will get upstate and damage New York’s hardwood and maple syrup industries.

“We still are inspecting trees in affected neighborhoods,” Gittleman said. “It’s an ongoing process.”

Two inspectors are now working from Douglaston to the Van Wyck Expressway.

Nasty living in Greenpoint

From the Daily News:

The rent is so damn low in a Greenpoint flophouse that residents - many who pay under $300 a month - refuse to leave despite an infestation of rats, bedbugs, and even silverfish.

Nearly three dozens tenants of the Greenpoint Hotel on Manhattan Ave. are suing landlord Jay Deutchman citing disgusting living conditions such as vermin, collapsing ceilings, and shared flooded hallway bathrooms replete with a nauseating odor.

“It’s the only thing I got,” said Anthony Mirabal, 45, who pays nothing to live in the single-room-occupancy (SRO) building in squalor.

Mirabel, a retired U.S. customs agent, said he won a case against the building’s previous owner receiving a six-year rent credit and is now taking Deutchman to court because the place has become inhabitable.

Department of Housing Preservation and Development records showed 514 open violations connected to the various addresses of the Greenpoint Hotel - 66 Clay St. and 1109 - 113 Manhattan Ave.

And things are so bad that the agency is also suing Deutchman.

Tenants’ advocates said Deutchman - who took over the building in 2009 - is purposely letting the place rot hoping to push out the poor occupants and hike up the rents.

This slumlord has quite a rep in Rockaway as well.

The beetle patrol is back

The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association would like to inform residents that state and federal agencies have sent inspectors to Woodhaven to conduct searches for the Asian long-horned beetle.

The beetle is an invasive species that devastates trees. Official inspectors are going door-to-door, requesting access to the area around residences -- especially backyards -- to determine whether nearby vegetation is harboring any Asian long-horned beetles. Unfortunately, many residents have been unaware that the these surveys are taking place, leading them to be understandably suspicious of individuals seeking access to their property.

"These inspectors are doing important work to protect trees in Woodhaven and across Queens," said WRBA President Edward K. Wendell. "If someone claims they're from an official agency and asks for access to your property, request to see their identification and make sure they are dressed appropriately."

There are two kinds of inspectors conducting the surveys: state and federal, the latter being from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). New York State inspectors do not have a uniform but should always be wearing an official orange vest with lettering. Federal inspectors should be dressed in either green pants or blue jeans, and should have on a black coat with USDA lettering. In all cases, inspectors have official badges and/or official IDs and will produce them on request.

If, however, someone claiming to be an inspector does not produce identification, is not dressed properly, or does not properly identify themselves, do not grant them access to your property. Residents who feel uncomfortable or suspicious should call the police.

The WRBA has received calls from residents who were concerned about purported inspectors. Some of this confusion arose from those personnel identifying themselves incorrectly or not wearing the proper attire.

The WRBA has spoken with an inspection field manager and has expressed concern about some of the reports we have received. The Block Association hopes that the USDA takes steps to make sure that their inspectors properly identify themselves. The WRBA also hopes that improved openness and communication with residents will help inspectors keep Woodhaven free of this destructive pest.

If they experience any problems with inspectors, residents should feel free to notify the WRBA at info@woodhaven-nyc.org or (718) 296-3735.

Residents who suspect an Asian long-horned beetle infestation should collect an adult beetle in a jar, place the jar in a freezer, and immediately notify the USDA by calling (866) 265-0301.

You want flies with that?

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Associated Marketplace, a supermarket at 153-30 89 Ave., just opened on April 4, and there are still “grand opening” banners hanging along the exterior. But one area resident noticed something that was less than welcoming — piles of dead flies along the windowsill.

The manager of the store, Rody Sarita, said Friday that he didn’t know how the flies got wedged on the windowsill between the glass exterior of the store and the back of the internal pharmacy structure, but he said, it made them hard to reach and therefore hard to remove.

But the flies were also located in other spots along the sill where there was no barrier to impede their removal. To that, Sarita said he would have a staffer address the issue. “This one we will clean it out, no problem,” he said. “We know we have to clean the other one out too.”

Sarita was also quick to point out a passing inspection notice by the Department of Agriculture and Markets, dated the day the store opened, which stated that the market is “in substantial compliance in that no critical deficiencies were observed.”

Geoff Palmer, a spokesman for the DAM, said Tuesday that the agency would send an inspector back out to the site soon to check on the cleanliness of conditions there.

Lots of bad landlords in the city

From NY1:

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio released on Tuesday his latest list of what he says are the worst landlords and buildings in the city.

Some 358 buildings are on the list, owned by 317 landlords.

At the top of the list of worst landlords is 1071 Home Corp, with 753 hazardous violations and five buildings on de Blasio's watchlist.

Three of the top five landlords have buildings in the Bronx, and two have buildings in Brooklyn.

Violations include lack of heat or hot water, lead paint, toxic mold or broken plumbing.

De Blasio launched the watchlist last year to publicly shame repeat offenders whose buildings don't meet city regulations.

Outing these owners, according to de Blasio, adds public pressure to have them make much-needed changes.

This year's worst building, 245 Sullivan Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has 654 code violations.

Residents say the problems have gone on for years, from black mold to leaking ceilings and infestations of rats, mice and cockroaches.

Shuttered Fresh Pond store bringing down the nabe

From the Times Newsweekly:

Rachel’s Garden, which was located at the corner of Fresh Pond Road and Woodbine Street in Ridgewood, closed its doors only 18 months after opening. Before the fruitstand, a medical office was briefly located there. For many years, the location was a large and successful funeral parlor—Wasmund’s, then Wasmund’s and Sorice.

Problems were touched off between the establishment and block residents when the store took the garage, located at the rear on Woodbine Street, and turned it into an additional storage room for the fruits and vegetables, when the rooms below the store became filled with too much produce.

Others in the area noted that Rachel’s Garden management also used the converted garage to store garbage, which included rotting fruits and vegetables, kept right alongside the fresh produce which they sold.

This was evidenced by the stench emanating from it which one nearby property owner described as “unbearable.”

Since being shuttered, the store has taken on a dilapidated appearance, according to area residents. The entryways to the shop have been boarded up with plywood. Some of the wooden shelves once lined with produce have been dismantled, with the pieces left lying on the sidewalk adjacent to the storefront.

Neighbors also claimed that they have seen an assortment of pests—including roaches, mice and rats— scurrying into and out of the garage and shuttered store. Complaints have been filed with various city agencies via the 311 hotline demanding action to compel the landlord and/or the defunct shop’s owner to clean up the mess.

Khapra beetle is no joke

From the Daily News:

[The Khapra beetle] might not look like much, but the pest could wreak agricultural and economic havoc if allowed to infiltrate the U.S.

Native to India, it's considered one of the 100 worst invasive species worldwide and can destroy grains, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In just the first four months of this year, agents intercepted the beetle 44 times at U.S. ports - more than in all of last year.

The importer is given the choice of having the cargo returned or destroyed.

The beetle was first discovered on our shores in 1953 and the government spent $15 million to eradicate it, according to experts at the University of Florida.

Smug as a bug with a rug

It's Friday, and the weather is cooling off a bit. Mother Nature has had enough hot air and so have Queens voters. It's time to caption this photo.

A pain in the ash

From the Daily News:

The feds are placing 9,800 traps across the state this month to catch a small but nasty beetle that could kick New York's ash.

The emerald ash borer first surfaced in the state last June - wiping out 39 ash trees in upstate Cattaraugus County. It hasn't been seen in the state since, but the feds aren't taking any chances.

They are putting purple box traps in ash trees - the pest's prey - in 42 counties, but none in the city, said U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Sharon Lucik.

So far, city trees are more vulnerable to the Asian long-horned beetle, which comes in through shipping.

About 4% of city trees are ash, and there are no plans to add more.

"We do not plant ash trees anymore because of the impending threat of the emerald ash borer," said Tim Wenskus of the forestry division of the city Parks Department.

Emerald ash borers first surfaced in Michigan in 2002 and have since spread to 14 states, where they have killed tens of millions of trees.

"It's pretty much on the way to eliminating ash trees in Michigan and Ohio. We are suspicious that it may be coming into New York City environments," Carlson said.

He's relying on dozens of park workers to search city trees for any cases in the five boroughs.

"The probability of a large infestation is very low because the people who work for New York City parks know what they are looking for," he said.

Here's how to identify an ash tree.

Something stinks in Brooklyn

From the NY Post:

Pentatomoidae -- insects called stinkbugs because they emit an odor like rotten cheese -- have landed in Brooklyn, and they're spreading.

The fingernail-sized flying beetles are native to China, Korea and Japan, but made landfall in the US in 1998 in Allentown, Pa., according to Rutgers University entomologist George Hamilton.

"They're good hitchhikers," said Hamilton of the insects, which can lay up to 30 eggs at a time. "They get into clothes and suitcases and spread."

Robert Macri, a pest-control specialist, advises: "If you smash them, the odor comes out. The best is to pick them up and flush them. The problem is they're hard to catch because they fly."

Ladybug invasion!

From NY1:

Some unwelcome visitors swarm an apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens, as residents say hundreds of ladybugs descended on some of their balconies.

Local say the insects are becoming a big nuisance.

"It's hard because I want to leave my balcony door open. I'm trying to clean, and they're all flying in. I had to close the door, so it's been very inconvenient for me," said a local. "It's just gross, because they're flying on you and getting in your hair, your shirt. You get itchy, gross."

NY1 reached out to a few area pest control and landscaping companies, and they say ladybugs are known to move about this time of year due to the rainy weather.

They may also be attracted to light-colored buildings.

Experts say ladybugs pose no risk and are beneficial for gardens.

Exoskeleton extravaganza!

The cicadas are back...
and they're shedding.

The top one was taken in Flushing and the bottom one in Little Neck.