6/30/2011 BedBug Invasion At Prudential Douglas Elliman’s New York City Headquarters: Evacuation Of Office Occurred When Discovered
Prudential Douglas Elliman’s headquarters at 575 Madison Avenue were evacuated yesterday after bedbugs were spotted on the building’s fourth floor, The Real Deal has learned.
The bedbugs were initially spotted yesterday morning in the office of a senior broker at the firm, according to sources who asked not to be identified, and Elliman, the largest residential broker in New York, later asked workers to leave the offices and treated the affected three floors of the property.
“They said it was pretty bad,” said an industry executive familiar with the firm. “It seems to be in one wing of the fourth floor, which is the executive floor.”
It is not immediately known why the bedbugs suddenly appeared, but sources said that Elliman’s offices at 575 Madison, near 56th Street, recently went through a renovation, which could account for the bedbug sightings.
Elliman officials initially issued a “no comment,” but an official who asked not to be identified later said that “one small office of one agent” was affected by the bedbugs.
Barry Beck, COO of Assured Environments, issued an emailed statement through Elliman’s spokesperson, confirming that the offices were treated for bedbugs.
“We discovered a bedbug on the fourth floor of [575 Madison],” he said. “To be proactive, we treated the entire fourth floor, as well as the third and fifth last night. Our service team reported no infestation was found during our remediation process on any floors.”
He added that are “no active insect conditions” in the building and the three floors were being monitored. Evan Rosenblum, marketing director at the exterminator, later said that there was a call for service at the building in 2010, but did not have specifics on who the client was.
The 385,000 square-foot property boasts of some pretty high-end tenants, including the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman and the flagship of Italian footwear retailer Geox USA.
A receptionist at the landlord, Steinberg & Pokoik Management, could not immediately comment, but was looking for officials who would be able to speak on the matter.
Bedbugs have become an increasing problem in New York City, with the city convening a bedbug advisory panel in April 2010, as the pests were reported at hundreds of hotels, apartment buildings and other properties.
New York was ranked as having more bedbugs than any other city in the country last year, and while the pests are usually found at night in residential apartments and homes, they have been sighted in commercial buildings, including the Empire State Building.
The Real Estate Board of New York held a seminar on bedbug infestation just last month, as the landlords are ramping up to fight bedbug problems during the summer selling season.
George Shea, a public relations executive and partner at Manhattan-based Bed Bug Super Dogs, said that his firm has inspected more than 400,000 square feet of commercial office space for bedbugs in the last week to 10 days, and the critters can adopt to daylight hours once they enter an office building.
“It is quite common for people to see a bedbug crawling over the papers on their desk,” Shea said.
Officials at the New York City Department of Health said they do not usually get involved in commercial building issues, but they were looking into the matter to see if they had any comment.
Continue Reading More: Bedbug Invasion At Prudential Douglas Ellimans NYC Headquarters
Bedbugville 
Leave a comment