October 10, 2007
"Biblical" Roach Infestation, Tenants Sue Ansonia
A couple renting an apartment at the legendary Ansonia building on the Upper West Side filed a lawsuit claiming their apartment is "completely uninhabitable" due to cockroach infestation. The lawsuit from lawyers Alan Arkin (no relation to the actor) and Suzanne Bagert details these nightmare-inducing incidents:
They crawl across the floor, on the walls, on the ceilings, on the curtains and even in the bed...Perhaps most disgustingly, cockroaches have crawled in their food and coffee maker. Killing them does very little. Recently after the cockroaches were crushed, killed and vacuumed away during the day, (they) counted 16 cockroaches in the hallway outside the apartment....The hallway outside their apartment is constantly covered with cockroaches; on any given day, there can be 20 to 30 cockroaches crawling on the walls and the doors of the apartments.The couple has even, per the NY Times, "collected about 50 dead roaches over the last three days, storing them in a jar, and they are also keeping a log of roach sightings." They can't even turn off the lights, or else the roaches will swarm! Arkin also found a roach in his sock the other morning.
The couple is renting the apartment from family friends who charge them a rather low (for the building) $2,400 for a one-bedroom. They have tried exterminators but with limited success, hence the lawsuit against management company Sirius Realty. They blame another tenant who allegedly refuses to have her apartment treated.
|
Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
why is this not the apartment owner's problem???
Sounds like living hell. I couldn't live in that. Actually, it'd probably make me want to move out of NYC for good. Gross. I bet the building's infested; them calling an exterminator for only their apartment will do no good. The owner should probably fumigate the entire building.
For every cockroach you see, there are 500 you don't see.
#1: because the roaches never infest a single apartment. the whole building needs to be treated.
Aahh! That photo alone gives me the heebie-jeebies. The entire building must be fumigated for it to have any impact. I feel all itchy just reading this story.
That's foul.
#4, i undrestand..but i would figure the tenant shuld complain to the apt owner, and the apt owner should be the one trying to find a solution, argue with bldg mgmt, etc...seems strange how they're not invovled, unless that how ansonia does things
move to brooklyn, we dont have roaches out here.
#8- I was thinking the same thing. I live on the ground floor of a large building in Brooklyn next to a supermarket and I have yet to see any roaches in 4 years. We don't even have an exterminator!
I think I'm going to vomit.
I think I'd almost rather be pulled apart by horses than find roaches in my Mr. Coffee, socks, and bedsheets.
No wonder Brangelina moved to the Waldorf.
Wimps. It's not like they have to cohabitate with furry foot long rats...
I had a friend in Washington Heights with the same problem. They swarmed the hallways, and when you came into the apartment at night and turned the light on, the walls and floor moved. I was staying over that night and did not sleep all night. That was the first and last time.
My friend was Felix Unger all the way, but it made no difference. She eventually moved out and bought all new furniture.
I really can’t even imagine having to live like that. Spiders and centipedes are what I am used too. And I don’t kill them either.
Good luck to them.
collected about 50 dead roachess over the last three days
Would that be that a female roach?
That photo is really (sorry) bugging me out.
TIP: You know those super-creepy, feathery centipedes with the really long legs? Don't kill them - they feed on roach larvae. They're creepy, but still better than cockroaches.
Bed bugs make roaches look pale by comparison.
Yes, at least cockroaches don't bite and leave rashes all over your body...
no roaches in brooklyn, there's worse vermin - hipsters.
That photo is giving me serious heeby jeebies!
Wow, thanks DCfist! I'll leave those ::shudder:: centipedes alone now.
Joe's Apartment anyone?
There's one logical solution, which is what I did when I noticed a bunch of roaches around my place...caulk up every single hole and crack. I did this about 5 months ago and have seen only 2 or 3 roaches, which is not unexpected in NYC. It's cheap and will take you all of an hour or 2 to go over your apartment.
Reposting Guest comment to make sure all the "Guest comments off" Elites see it:
There's one logical solution, which is what I did when I noticed a bunch of roaches around my place...caulk up every single hole and crack. I did this about 5 months ago and have seen only 2 or 3 roaches, which is not unexpected in NYC. It's cheap and will take you all of an hour or 2 to go over your apartment.
I've done this as well and had great success so far. Caulking is cheap and effective. Couple that with some insecticides not "easily obtained" (read: banned) in New York State and you're set to go.
ew, ew, ew, ew.
Gross
There's only one way to get rid of roaches.
Catch them with a fork, dip in chocolate, and eat. Saves money on groceries too.
The Times also mentioned that the couple's dog "unfortunately" doesn't hunt roaches.
I have no sympathy for rich people who pay outrageous amounts of money pissing away money on rent. You buy a house you don't have roaches.
when it starts to rain cockroaches, that's where I draw the line. time to look for another place.
The couple, two Jews; are too cheap to buy a few combats, some roach bombs, and too stingy to throw out their junk.
No wonder they have roach problems. They're filthy pigs.
And just like a Jew, they try to sue a solution to the problems they caused.
roach bombs? that is soooo toxic!
Anyhow...money does not buy health or good hygine
I wonder does clutter contributes to roach problems.
You know how some people are packrats and never throw anything away.
Oh god, oh god, ewww, those centipedes, AHHHH. I can't bring myself to kill them, so I trap them and toss them out the window, but they still scare the everloving bejeezus out of me.
My boyfriend and I were thinking about living in the Ansonia (his parents own an apartment they rent out there, otherwise we couldn't afford it). He hates roaches with a passion. Good thing we went to Brooklyn instead.
- Ri L.
My guess is that the couple is sub-letting a rent stabalized apartment. That building is full of them, and it's a shame that that important detail is not included in the story. With most of the tenants paying way-below market rent, it's no surprise that management cannot afford to improve the living conditions. Eight room apartments rent for less than $2,000/mth.
Perhaps, the couple, who can clearly afford it, should pay market prices, and they won't have this problem.
I also find it interesting that the elderly woman will not let management de-tox her apartment. This uncoopertive tenant is likely scared that the "improvement" to the apartment would allow management to increase the rent.
The only answer is to end rent regulation.
um, no relation to the actor? who in the hell cares?! maybe jen chung should stick with gossip and leave the "news" to the rest of the gothamist staff.
Cool, spoken like a true landlord/real estate attorney, douchebag.
Tenants did not invent rent stabilization. If you don't like it, don't own the building.
Most building owners are greedy money whores who cry poverty whenever theyt don't want to maintain their buildings. . It's wonderful that there are laws protecting us stabilizers. i pay $700 a month on Park Ave. in the 60's and I'm lovin' it! In the winters I live in Aruba.
I am following this story with great interest as my partner and I have been battling the same sort of infestation in Brooklyn. I've lived in NYC for over 23 years and I have never had this kind of problem. We let the exterminator in every month (when he shows up...if he shows up) and it has only a minor effect on the infestation. We are fortunate that ours seem to stay mostly in the kitchen (though they are in the living room, too) but if you come out in the middle of the night the countertops look like something out of a Stephen King novel. We buy poison spray, and go through at least a can a week, spraying. The choice is the infestation or a poisoned environment. It isn't a matter of cleanliness, either. I have poured undiluted bleach on our counters and it has no effect on them. They crawl out of our coffee maker, too. They've crawled out of our refrigerator and freezer, too. Every month I write to the landlord complaining about the cockroaches (and now the mice) and every month, or two, they send out an exterminator. It does no good if they don't get in to every apartment. And in our apartment, there are people who won't let the exterminator in. And I resent the comment about "rich renters"...we are decidedly NOT rich...and we pay almost $1700 a month for this vermin infested two-bedroom apartment in Prospect Heights -- though developers have just put up a new building next door for which they want $1.1 million)
I am rooting for this couple. I wish I could be in touch with them to find out how the court rules.
comment #29 is why i just turned off guests. i had them on before but now i guess i'm officially a snob. boohoo.
#34- It was actually the NYTimes article that made the distinction between Alan Arkin the actor and Alan Arkin the tenant/lawyer.
In addition, the building is a condominium. With all the money they must collect each month for maintenance, they should have a budget for fumigation services.
"The only answer is to end rent regulation"
Yeah sure...so NYC becmes more expensive than what it is! genious! Like that will happen so easy
Bo- The construction next to your building could be the cause of the problem. Otherwise, as #21 noted, you should consider caulking up every hole and crack in your apartment to diminish the problem. I have done that before and the results are much better than poison.
#20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe's_Apartment
Good one dude!
I'd capture the roaches live, put them in a box, and mail to the landlord. That would be so awesome to see him open that package.
Skip the extermanator costs and order MAX FORCE online for 20 dollars will do a 4 bedroom apt easlily. And you wont see them for 6 months! shyt really works you can only get it online though. its commercial grade. I live and die by that stuff it works unlike convence store products which are intended to keep you comming back.
I recently bought a co-op and I am currently experiencing a similar situation. I have tried every home remedy possible (caulking up EVERY hole, Boric Acid, sprays bought on-line, etc...). The bottom line is if the building is not getting treated by a proper exterminator then you will never win the fight against the cockroaches. My guess is the building is infested with the German Cockroach which reproduces 30 to 40 eggs every two weeks. Do the math!
This is my advice to anyone having this problem:
- Call 311 and make a complaint with the Housing Preservation Department. The building (management company)will be fined if they do not work on the problem.
- Research: Cockroaches are a leading cause of Asthma in Urban areas. There are also articles on the psychological damages infestations can cause people. Use this info!
- Put everything in writing to your management company and get something in writing from a lawyer.
- Have an exterminator come to your building to assess the situation. They will do this for free because they want to take you on as a client.
- Last but not least get an exterminator that knows what they are doing. Simple spraying will never work and stop wasting your money on store bought sprays and roach hotels. You need baits and gels that will stop them from reproducing and kill them.
Trust me it is not an easy road, but if you get the building treated by the right company the problem can get better.