In a building once made famous by singer Sting, pests that don’t bite have taken over: bed bugs! All 21 units at 401-403 W57th Street, on the corner of 9th Avenue — an intersection commemorated by the British singer-songwriter in his 2016 album 57th and 9th — have been infested with the dreaded bugs, according to a new report from real Real estate portal Rent Betta.
The building at 401-403 W57th Street where all 21 apartments have been registered as infested with bed bugs by the Office of Housing Preservation and Development. Photo: Mary Jane Livingston
It joins 12 other New York City buildings with 10 or more apartments where every apartment has reported a bed bug problem to the Office of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
The Hell’s Kitchen building, built in 1890, was the most recently rented, 462-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo for $3,600 per month, with an average rental price of $3,418 per month for one- and two-bedroom units. W42ST contacted a phone number used by building owners on official documents for comment on the incident. The person who answered hung up after we identified ourselves. Sting couldn’t have known what was happening behind him on the corner of 57th and 9th as he posed for this album cover. composite photo.
Bed bugs — small, flat, apple-pit-sized pests — have plagued New Yorkers for decades, frequently hitchhiking with luggage, furniture and clothing into homes where they breed and bite their unfortunate hosts. Bed bugs also have a reputation for making their presence felt in commercial buildings, having previously been found at (among others) the AMC Empire 25 movie theater in Times Square, Bloomingdales, Niketown and most recently the Meatpacking District Reserve Starbucks Roastery.
New York City landlords are required by law to report any bed bug infestation to the HPD and address the issue within 30 days of discovery. And if you’re moving into a new apartment, landlords are required by law to report all cases of bed bugs within the past year.
While you can’t (quite worryingly) guarantee that bed bugs won’t stage a hostile takeover in your home, there are some preventive measures that the health department recommends. They advise New Yorkers:
- Check used furniture before buying.
- Eliminate clutter to reduce the number of places bed bugs can live.
- Vacuum often.
- If you use public or shared washrooms, carry your laundry in clean bags. Take your clothes out of the dryer and put them straight into the bags. Fold your clothes at home.
- Seal any cracks or crevices around your home.
- Place bed bug traps on the legs of bed frames and furniture.
- Protect mattresses and box springs with bed bug resistant covers.
Bugs like this one have been found at 401-403 W57th Street, but are long-term pests in New York, moving from apartment to apartment with luggage, furniture and clothing Photo: Piotr Naskrecki / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Bugs like this one have been found at 401-403 W57th Street, but are long-term pests in New York, moving from apartment to apartment with luggage, furniture and clothing Photo: Piotr Naskrecki / Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPerhaps most surprisingly, the bed bug’s other enemy is none other than the cockroach, which, given the chance, preys on the pest – a New York City horror story, if there ever was one. Good luck out there Westsiders – and don’t let the bed bugs bite!
