Bloomberg: Crime Stat Manipulations are "Tiny"
Palin: "Absurd" Not To Consider 2012 Run
School Already Canceled Tomorrow for Snowpocalypse!
Wall Street Throwing More Money at Republicans
More Bald Eagles Spotted In Harlem!
Try not to think about bed bugs next time you watch a movie.
There's a classic he said/she said playing out at a Park Slope cinema, where moviegoers and theater management are arguing over allegations that the multiplex is infested with bed bugs.
Commenters on the messageboard Brooklynian.com have claimed that "there's a giant bedbug problem" at the Pavilion Cinema on Prospect Park West. "It is not a rumor," wrote one commenter. "I experienced it first hand during Julie and Julia whenever that was a few months ago. I was bit by an adult bed bug in the big theater. Luckily he did not come home with me, but I am not taking any chances and am staying far away from that place."
Though commenters and even the folks at Fucked in Park Slope have expressed some skepticism about the allegations, the theater is also listed on the website BedBugRegistry.com, where one visitor wrote: "My partner and I went here on 9/1/2009, and I noticed three bites in a tell-tale time after we left. We do not have bedbugs in our home, so I can only assume they came from spending 2.5 hours in the dark theater."
But Pavilion management told Gothamist that allegations of a bed bug infestation are false. "That is inaccurate information, we do not have a bed bug problem," said general manager Lauren Goffio, who noted that she has asked the theater's exterminator to "double check" for the increasingly ubiquitous critters in the wake of a bed bug outbreak in a Sheepshead Bay cinema.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
All I can say it's that I was there, on the main theater, about a month ago and I'm doing fine.
I wish I could support the Pavilion, but every time I go there I get relegated to the crappiest movie theater. Seriously, the whole reason I came to see whatever movie is to see explosions or spaceships on the big screen-- I hate the little side theaters.
the last time I went to one of the tiny side theaters it smelled like urine. Since I've moved out of the Slope, I can now go to "clean" theaters.
I've started walking to the Court Street theater. Farther, yes. Better? Also yes.
I bet those bedbugs are stroller-borne.
Palpable filth, broken seats, crappy screens, bad soundproofing, and apparently run entirely by surly teenagers... and now bedbugs? If I hadn't already sworn off going to the Pavilion, this would do it.
If I have to choose between Pavillion and Court Street, then bring on the bed bugs!!
no offense, but with a comment like that, i hope you have to deal with this some day.
This is a bullshit story. It's one thing to report a bedbug crisis when the place is tested and it is confirmed that bedbugs exist. It's another to print a story based on some dumbass online comments hypothesizing about them existing. This is where Gothamist totally sucks...because it will no doubt affect their business in an already difficult economic crisis. I'm not one who likes the Pavillion at all, but if there really are no bedbugs there, Gothamist should be ashamed of themselves for publishing this drivel.
I agree as far as printing things that may be untrue especially at a time when it could truly make or break a buss. given the current economym BUT fact of the matter is, people not reporting, discussing, this issue is an EVEN bigger night mare. Park Slope is becoming completely overrun with bed bugs,i would find it harder to believe that, given the location of the theater, the fact that it's a place where people do come & get comfy for hours & where the conditions are ideal for fostering a bed bug infestation, they DON'T have a problem. People don't know enough and may unknowingly transferring this crap ALL OVER the place. Why don't all of you take a minute to look at the bed bug registry web site and let's all start being proactive & vigilant.
Sounds like propaganda from a competing movie theatre.
This doesn't surprise me. That theater has been filthy for years. I don't think those seats have been cleaned since they were installed over a decade or so ago. Every time I go there I feel like I need a shower.
Supposedly it's also a problem at the Kaufman Astoria multiplex theater as well.
I think the stupid helicopter moms are far worse than any bug.
You guys neglect to mention that the rumors of Bed Bugs at Sheepshead Bay UA were also deemed false and never confirmed.
http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2009/10/bed-bugs-at-the-ua-not-really-heres-the-whole-story/
Sheepshead Bites covered that story.
Disclaimer: I write for Sheepshead Bites but I didn't write that article.
Basing this on two uncorroborated reports, which may have been written by the same person, seems unfair to the theater. Julie & Julia was released on August 7th, so it's possible the person saw the movie on Sept. 1 and reported it on both sites.
I'm with Mordicai--there are just so many reasons to avoid this pathetic theatre, who needs another? But the alternatives are few and far between, sadly. I will NOT go to the Court Street "tower of boxes" firetrap. We try to catch as much as we can at the BAM Rose (where, btw, I saw one of the biggest waterbugs ever enjoying the show), but they don't run everything. The saddest thing about the Pavilion is how much utterly wasted promise it represents. Remember its early reopened days, when they promised a few screens for art-house fare, and a nifty cafe, etc.? The cafe was a disaster, and now it's just a crappy multiplex run by slackers, with most of its "houses" tiny, filthy, and airless. Such a shame; it coulda been a contender.
I posted about the bedbugs on Yelp and BedBug Registry. The person who mentioned _Julie and Julia_ and "adult bed bug" on Brooklynian is not me--although I did see _Julie and Julia_ there, coincidentally. I have never posted anything on the Brooklynian website.
I know that I received bed-bug bites and noticed it immediately after leaving the theater. I had been bitten years before in a hostel and have a strong reaction. It was the same three-in-a-line formation, and the marks persisted for over a month, like they did before.
I cannot say with 100% certainty that I was bitten in the Pavilion, but it seems very likely. I went from home, on a bus, to the theater, and noticed the itchiness towards the end of the movie. Right after, standing just outside the theater, I visually confirmed the bites. Six in total. I do not have an infestation in my home and avoided bringing any home with me, so I think it's very likely they came from the theater.
I've heard that it's much more difficult to bring bed bugs home on a single body. A friend of mine had an infestation and frequently slept over her girlfriend's house for about a year without transferring it. On the other hand, an infected piece of furniture or mattress will easily spread them.
I love the Pavilion, but I'm still avoiding it because I am really allergic and don't want to take the chance. Some people, like my friend who lived with an infestation for over a year, don't show reactions to bites. But her gfriend and roommate did.
That person deserved to get bitten for seeing Julie and Julia.
Okay, this is crazy, because back in August I had bug bites that fit this description exactly, and now I'm wondering if I got them at the Pavilion after I saw District 9. The bites were on the back of my lower thigh, basically at the skirt hemline level. At the time I found the bites I flipped out and tore up my apartment looking for traces of bedbugs but found nothing, and I have not had another bite since then.
Lets all just face it, the seating in the pavilion is disgusting. I am tired of having to wear a military grade poncho when visiting the Park Slope Pavilion to avoid coming into contact with the fabric of theirs seats. Sometimes, when I dont feel like sweating it up for 2 hours in my poncho, I will sneak a roll of Viva© Brand paper towels into the theater which I will then use to cover every inch of my seat and armrest. I am tired of melted chocolate on my armrest, and of melted fecal lumps burned into my seat. I am also tired of getting the back of my head stuck to the years of oil and headlice that seem to hold these seats together. I am not sure about all of the theaters in particular, as I have had exceptional pleasant viewing experiences in a few of the smaller rooms which happen to have more modern and cleaned seating. When I saw Wall-E it was in a small theater and I happen to be fortunate enough to be the only customer that night, so I didnt have to deal with the regular cell phone assholes who decide that in the middle of Wall-E they want to reassign all of their ringtones with recent 99 cent ringtone downloads from the television. The one room I am referring too, and you all know what I am talking about involves a synthetic velvet fabric that is drastically failing the test of time. This fabric absorbs all liquid matter and seems to preserve it with integrity. Perhaps a little touch of FeBreeze© can enhance this experience for the common folk of the neighborhood. Also maybe since this is the only theater in the zone with convenience to location, the management whiz kids can muster up a business plan to reupholster this seating nightmare left over from the 80's. When I sit in a theater the last thing I want to think about is the possibility of my girlfriend getting artificial insemination from one its poorly cleaned seats. Also, the image of Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) keeps popping up while watching a film leaving his residue on the back of my seat. I dont want to think about these things while watching movies. I simply want to sit in a damn chair where I dont have to worry about all this crap. So PLEASE! To the 19 year old manager of the slope pavilion, think about the upholstery fix. It will greatly increase peoples desire to return, and drastically reduce the risk of any unwanted pregnancies or transfers of undesired STD's and or parasitic insects. Thank You. Sincerely, Rickyexpress