Bushwick’s representative in city council Rafael Espinal is the main sponsor of a bill that may significantly alleviate our anxiety regarding one of the worst infestations of all, bedbugs.
The bill he’s sponsoring in city council would require the city’s department of Housing Preservation and Development to report the bedbug complaints it receives to the public including:
»Reported violations.
»Average time it takes for homeowners to fix the problem.
»What homeowners do to get rid of the pesky bugs.
»Public education so that we all can learn best practices when it comes to dealing with the menace.
“We have to arm the city, and all New Yorkers, with this information so they can take it upon themselves in order to figure out a way to to eradicate this problem,” Espinal said.
The bill would also include the requirement for a publicly accessible map, updated quarterly. Imagine being able to log on to a website and see how close you are to a hotbed of bedbug activity. Would it help you take steps to protect yourself against the problem? Or would it just engender fear?
Some officials think that a map might unfairly stigmatize whole communities suffering from the problem without providing any real solution to the problem.
But the fact remains that the little bugs are a huge menace, and their spread can be controlled with the right blend of prevention and all-out assault.
Featured image courtesy of Daryan Shamkhali.