O.M.F.G -- 349 St. Johns on NPR for bedbugs.

On our way back from upstate today, we heard a new episode of This American Life on NPR, and they interviewed someone at 349 St. Johns Pl. about the bedbug issue in that building.

Is that building this notorious? Will it bring due (but unwanted, at least by the owners) attention to it?

The episode can be found at the link.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=361

damn thats a crazy 1. i hate that i live right around the corner from that bldg

supreme_ian wrote: damn thats a crazy 1. i hate that i live right around the corner from that bldg

I hate that we live across the street from it.

yeah thats even worse. i feel so sorry for you . i should buy you a drink and a raid bomb !

Here's a photo from the This American Life website:

ahahahah that just made my stomach turn !!

Why are they still living there?! Get out! Stop paying rent and move!
If my kid was getting bitten, I would have done anything to get the F*ck out of there.

From what I hear around the neighborhood is the issue seems to be affordability. Most of the people in that building have been there for a while, or are older and on a fixed income, and simply cant afford to move.

Subject: Resident

As someone who is a resident of the building in discussion, telling me what I should and shouldn't do to rectify the situation makes me feel talked down to. Trust me, we have and are taking every step we can to solve the problem but the legal and housing systems are stacked against us.

And yes, many of us cannot move because we're not privileged with trust funds nor do we work on Wall Street.

Hopefully the NPR story will have some effect but I remain doubtful.

Oh and just to give ya'll a bit of amusement since you seem to hate the slumlord issue as much as I do, someone went up to the roof and stole all the tools that were up there being used to construct the new house-of-cards apartments so we've been living noise pollution free for a few weeks. :-)

Subject: I can't hear it...

for some strange reason, I am unable to hear the broadcast...

Subject: Re: Resident

@ kat283,

Sorry to hear you're stuck in that place. Hopefully the episode will bring some much needed attention to the issue in that building. I also sent the episode to a few other sites that get more traffic than this board, in hopes it'll get picked-up for a wider audience.

Subject: Re: Resident

kat283 wrote: As someone who is a resident of the building in discussion, telling me what I should and shouldn't do to rectify the situation makes me feel talked down to. Trust me, we have and are taking every step we can to solve the problem but the legal and housing systems are stacked against us.

And yes, many of us cannot move because we're not privileged with trust funds nor do we work on Wall Street.

Hopefully the NPR story will have some effect but I remain doubtful.

Oh and just to give ya'll a bit of amusement since you seem to hate the slumlord issue as much as I do, someone went up to the roof and stole all the tools that were up there being used to construct the new house-of-cards apartments so we've been living noise pollution free for a few weeks. :-)

I did not mean to talk down to the people 349 St. Johns Pl.
We had Bed Bugs for 6 months in our building and I have sympathy
for people living with the problem. It Crippled us financially and put a lot of
stress on our marriage.

Can't you guys go on a rent strike? The whole building? Call Letita James
Office? NY1? Post? Times?

How is stealing construction tools going to help your building? The contractors are going to put pressure on the slumlord, who's going to still stick it too the residents of the building. The amount on building violations
on the NEW top floor is a disaster waiting to happen. Has anyone noticed that the scaffolding in front is twisting and looks like will come down on its own?

P.s Wish I had a trust fund and people who work on Wall Street are scum.

Subject: Re: Resident

GOD wrote: people who work on Wall Street are scum.

Damn, in that case I'm glad we moved our office to Madison Avenue.

Sorry to hear about those bed bugz. 8)

That's shocking. I wonder if the buildings nearby are now especially susceptible.

Its becoming such an epidemic, its making a lot of people I know wary about having guests over, or subletting their apts etc.

And landlords basically deny it or say its your fault.

I'm sure there are other buildings in the neighborhood overrun too, and we just dont know.

----------------------------------------------
Siren, Prospect Hts
SEE MY FURNITURE SALE- IKEA & PIER 1 SHELVES:
http://flickr.com/photos/tangotangent
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GOD wrote: Why are they still living there?! Get out! Stop paying rent and move!
If my kid was getting bitten, I would have done anything to get the F*ck out of there.

yes! and marjorie thompson is still showing those apt.s to rent & of course charging a broker's fee!

Subject: Re: Resident

kat283 wrote: As someone who is a resident of the building in discussion, telling me what I should and shouldn't do to rectify the situation makes me feel talked down to. Trust me, we have and are taking every step we can to solve the problem but the legal and housing systems are stacked against us.

And yes, many of us cannot move because we're not privileged with trust funds nor do we work on Wall Street.

Hopefully the NPR story will have some effect but I remain doubtful.

Oh and just to give ya'll a bit of amusement since you seem to hate the slumlord issue as much as I do, someone went up to the roof and stole all the tools that were up there being used to construct the new house-of-cards apartments so we've been living noise pollution free for a few weeks. :-)

You made This American Life. People all over the world listen to that show! I get the podcast but I haven't heard it yet. Is Ms. Thompson's name mentioned in the piece?

I listened to it this morning. Marjorie Thompson isn't mentioned.

Subject: You outted her!

Thank you for having the courage to do what I couldn't. Whoever named the Real Estate agent is right on point....

I wonder the "This American Life" reporter got the tip from RGB's earlier post?

Subject: I bet she did...

Hi Ms. Moderator:
I have a feeling she got the tip from my post. If you Google 349 St. Johns place, you'll see that a few bloggers picked up on the post...I love breaking news... ;-)

apollonia666 wrote: I listened to it this morning. Marjorie Thompson isn't mentioned.

my friends lived in that building and their friends still live there and know for a fact that marjorie thompson was showing apt.'s in this building - yes, right around the time of the mattresses being out there.

Yeah my ex had a bed bug issue, she was freaking out, i had bites all over!!

[sarcasm]Gawd, all you whiners whining about bedbugs! This is BROOKLYN! If you can't handle a few bedbugs then you should just go back to Ohio or wherever, you bunch of crybabies![/sarcasm]

So, we all agree that in this case, the broker does know!

http://bedbugger.com/2008/07/16/real-estate-brokers-who-do-not-disclose-that-buildings-are-infested-with-bed-bugs/

I had bed bugs when I lived in Bushwick. F'ing nightmare.

Although I got rid of them fairly easily (one treatment from pro exterminator), I would hope to never, ever, ever have them again (of course).

The news that theres a building (and probably more) that are super infested in our area is reaaally freaking me out.

http://bedbugregistry.com/location/NY/11238-5201/Brooklyn/349-Saint-Johns-Pl/

anyone else got 'em?!

Subject: Re: O.M.F.G -- 349 St. Johns on NPR for bedbugs.

Niner wrote: On our way back from upstate today, we heard a new episode of This American Life on NPR, and they interviewed someone at 349 St. Johns Pl. about the bedbug issue in that building.

Is that building this notorious? Will it bring due (but unwanted, at least by the owners) attention to it?

The episode can be found at the link.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=361

omg that's the story my g'friend told me not to listen to, because it was too squuueeegy.
Love the one later in the show about the guy who can't sleep . . .

Bedbugs are in Brooklyn

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=22432

Can't they just fumigate the entire building? I understand everyone would have to evacuate for 12-24 hours or whatever it is but than you can go back to you life bedbug free. Failing that you could probably just do your own apartment and most likely take care of the problem, however I would think doing the entire building would really insure they are gone and not coming back (at least for awhile).

brooklynlager that's not how it works.

i pray that you never get them.

Last month we moved into this building, and the first night, realized there was a terrible bedbug infestation. We moved out two days later.

The broker is an old woman who claimed she had no idea there were bedbugs, and appeared to barely even know what a bedbug was.

The manager, however, said we could leave and get all our money back the minute we mentioned bedbugs, with no argument whatsoever. He knew exactly what was going on.

What clued me in to the situation was that the space where the floor and walls meet had recently been plugged with new molding. when i looked closer i noticed bedbug poop, and dead bedbugs everywhere.

When we were moving out, every neighbor we met said they had bebugs, and that the management was doing nothing about it. Someone even told us they had exposed lead in their apartment, and they had a young child.

We were very, very fortunate to get out with a full refund, but it was still a terrible experience.