WELLSVILLE – A few dozen residents were evicted after a bug infestation in an apartment building on Main Street in the village of Wellsville.
The village declared the building unsafe after a public hearing and emergency board meeting on Wednesday morning. The three-story structure includes 52, 54 and 56 North Main Street and 10 East Fassett Street at the rear of the building.
Rich Wenslow, who was in charge of enforcing the village code, conducted an inspection of an illegal home on April 2nd at the request of the property manager. Wenslow found that Apartment 34 did not meet state building codes, had no mechanical ventilation, had no exterior windows, and had no proper exit. The tenant, Wenslow said, had padlocked the outside of the door and barricaded it inside with a dresser, eliminating a second exit point.
“It’s completely uninhabitable,” said Wenslow. “It’s in the middle of the building. There are no windows, nothing like that. It’s crazy.”
This first inspection led to another visit and the discovery of the bedbugs. After a change in management of the building, Wenslow was asked to re-inspect parts of the building with new manager Glen Hoehn and an Orkin pest control contractor. During that inspection on Monday, Wenslow found the building violated the state code for property maintenance.
“The bedbug infestation is so intense that eradication cannot begin with someone who lives in the building,” said Wenslow.
Wenslow informed the village administration of his findings on Monday and the village quickly declared the property unsafe. Management has 10 days to develop a plan to correct the situation. Wenslow said those efforts began Tuesday and builder HLM Upstate LLC offered $ 500 per tenant to help purchase new furniture or include current furniture during the demolition process.
“It’s possible that it will only be temporary,” Wenslow said of the postponement. “Some (residents) find permanent housing elsewhere. (Hoehn’s) intention is to have the building cleared. They pull carpets and do everything. Once that’s done there will be some additional remodeling and they will start bringing people back in. ”
What’s next for the residents?
The house contains 12 units. Patty Graves, assistant housing director for ACCORD Corporation in Allegany County, visited the building Tuesday evening to distribute requests for assistance. Graves estimated that half of the homes host families of two or more people, some of whom have children.
The first step for renters is to apply for assistance from the Department of Social Services, which can temporarily set up residents of a motel in the Wellsville area. ACCORD has additional funds to prevent homelessness. Because their home has been declared unsafe, residents meet the federal guidelines’ definition of homeless, Graves said.
ACCORD can provide financial help to cover the cost of the deposit and the first month’s rent for a new apartment. Support can last four to six months for qualified tenants.
Graves was in contact with the building management and spent an hour on Tuesday to inform the residents about help options and to distribute the necessary documents.
“If someone is in a similar situation and lives in an unsafe unit, you can call ACCORD at 585-268-7605,” Graves said. “We have a variety of programs that can help people get into safe and decent housing.”
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What you need to know about bed bugs
According to the Mayo Clinic, bedbugs are “small, red-brown parasitic insects that bite the exposed skin of sleeping people and animals in order to feed on their blood.”
The creatures are roughly the size of an apple seed and hide in the cracks and crevices of beds, box spring beds, headboards, bed frames and other items around a bed. Bedbugs aren’t just confined to where you sleep, they can also be found under carpets, under peeling paint or loose wallpaper, and even under light switch panels or electrical outlets.
The Mayo Clinic notes that bed bugs can be spread on clothing, luggage, furniture, boxes, and bedding. They can “crawl about as fast as a ladybug and move easily between floors and rooms in hotels or apartment complexes. … Bed bugs are more common in overcrowded accommodations with high occupancy rates. ”
Bedbug bites are usually red, often with a darker red spot in the center, itchy, arranged in a rough line or group, and are found on the face, neck, arms, and hands.
Chris Potter can be reached at cpotter@gannett.com or on Twitter @ ChrisPotter413. For full access to the latest news, subscribe or activate your digital account today.
