Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
New York Shitty Day Starter: Stolen Stratocaster
I have lived in Greenpoint for ten years. While I consider this community (and Williamsburg) to be generally safe there are some things you, as a street smart citizen, should not do. For example: storing your 1968 Stratocaster in your car. Smash and grabs are not only common hereabouts, but the items stolen will boggle your imagination.
Nonetheless if you have seen Dan’s Strat or know of its whereabouts please contact him via the email address or phone number on the above flier. Thanks!
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Bedbug Blues
Filed under: 11101, 11206, 11211, 11222, 11237, Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Bushwick, Bushwick Brooklyn, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
This item comes from a Brooklynite who, for reasons you can understand would like to remain anonymous. He/she writes:
Hi Miss Heather,
We’re having a problem: we were exposed to bed bugs on a recent trip and despite doing everything in our power to avoid bringing them home, we’re concerned that we did nonetheless.
Since then I’ve been scratching non-existent welts and searching the web for information on how to eradicate them in case we do discover them. Problem is: we have pets. Do you know of anyone who successfully used an extermination service that was safe for animals? Any information would be enormously appreciated.
Thanks,
Psychosomatically itchy
As it would happen I do know someone who has pets and has successfully fought the battle against these vermin from hell. We’ll call her J. I asked her for her take. Here it is:
Dear PI
If you did everything in your power to not bring the bugs home, then you can relax. From personal experience and from talking to others in these situations, it is really common to get itchy due to anxiety. Some of us even get anxiety-induced hives and that makes us even more anxious because it brings up the question—OMG, what if they’re bites? The best thing you can do right now is relax.
However, to answer the question—my animals were FINE. These are the guidelines I would recommend:
- Natural remedies don’t’ work. Don’t even bother researching neem or lavender. If there were a natural remedy that really worked, it would be easy to get and well advertised.
- Steaming is a lot of work and doesn’t get bugs that hide in the walls, so steaming the mattress once a week will help but it won’t take care of the whole problem. If you get bugs, you WILL need to use chemicals.
- Don’t hire a pco who wants to spray your entire floor boards. It doesn’t work anyway, and you and your pets will be exposed to unnecessary chemicals.
- Phantom is the chemical of choice these days. The PCO should spray it around the baseboards and maybe on the walls where they meet the ceiling.
- Your animals will need to be boarded during the treatment for usually about 5 hours, but ask your PCO what they think.
- I was instructed to mop up any excess before bringing the animals back in.
- My cat, upon returning from the catsitter’s, immediately ran and hid—right on top of a poison-treated area. For hours. And he was fine. No illness whatsoever. Not even any skin or eye irritation.
- I used UMG Pest Control and they were very good. I didn’t let them spray my mattress. I steamed it myself once a week and the chemicals did the rest.
- Go to bedbugger.com for more information about preparation, washing, bagging, etc.
I also, as my friend suggested, asked my buddy “nobugs” from Bedbugger for her take. Here it is:
Hi Heather,
Licensed pest control firms will know how to treat safely with pets in the home. We have heard cases where people were asked to remove the pet for several hours or even a day during treatment. Birds are especially sensitive. But people with pets get traditional pest control all the time. It’s important to discuss the treatment with the pest firm, and ask what is done differently due to the presence of pets, or whether they need to be out for a period of time.
If you get an idiot treating your home, there is some danger. One woman lost her dear parakeets. Cats are very sensitive to pyrethrins.
If someone is particularly worried about pesticides, some firms use a combination of steam and dusts.
A really effective and chemical-free treatment (and one of the only one-shot options) is thermal treatment. It can be costly but in the long run can work out the same as a prolonged battle with traditional sprays. Pets and humans have to leave for less than a day only because the temps go up to 140 F.
One caveat: in an apartment or other multi-unit building, getting treatment without telling the landlord/building manager may backfire if the pests have spread to others in the building.
Hope this helps!
I want to thank my buddy J and Nobugs for taking the time to tender advice to PI. If you have advice to share please do so via comments or send them to me via email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Your identity will remain anonymous if you so desire. Thanks!
And if you’re reading this, PI, it is my sincerest hope you do not have to use the information contained in this post.
Miss Heather
East Williamsburg Photo Du Jour: Boerum Street
Filed under: 11206, Bushwick, Bushwick Brooklyn, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Street Art
Taken May 24, 2010.
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: El Especialito
What really struck me about this photo (which was taken by Steven R. Hazlett and hails from Washington Heights) is how the newspaper dispenser is pressed into service as a bench. This is a far preferable alternative use for these occupiers of public space/trash magnets than what I found on Berry Street today.
Miss Heather
A North 7 Street PSA
Interestingly enough I found a used tampon only steps away from this missive. Stay classy, North 7 Street.
Miss Heather
Spotted On Havemeyer Street: Gratitude
Speaking as someone who has had a number of individuals slam into me (because they were not watching where they were walking; they were futzing with some kind electronic device instead) and stare at me with expressions mixed with disdain and disgust, this small act of common courtesy made smile.
Miss Heather
From The CB1 Yahoo Group: What’s Up At 236 North 10 Street?
When I found this item in my daily summary of the unofficial Community Board 1 Yahoo group today I simply has to pass it along here. M writes:
This was in my inbox this morning, and have taken the liberty to repost it here. For those of who walk to the L on Roebling, you’ve likely noticed the blocked off sidewalk on the south side of the street between North 9 and North 10. For at least two years, a construction fence has enclosed the sidewalk at this location. It presents an especially unsafe condition when there are trucks
loading and blocking the sidewalk at the feather warehouse across the street. Pedestrians are forced to walk in the street to pass this block. From what I can tell, there seems to be no movement to develop the lot in question, so I am unclear how long this unsafe condition will exist or why it was created in the first place. I inquired about this to our councilmember Steven Levin, and was informed by his community liaison that I (and many others) should file complaints to 311. That’s where you come into play.
Follows is a reply from a chap named Hunter. Please give it a read as he gives some excellent advice and appears to have volunteered to be a point person regarding this problematic property.
Filing a complaint to 311 takes about three minutes and can be achieved online (which is simpler than calling, in my opinion). Here are the steps: I’ve created this link to skip a few steps for you. From there you can select “sidewalk blocked by construction” and insert (or modify) the following description: “a construction fence has enclosed more than half the sidewalk on Roebling. It is impossible to walk on this side of the street without walking in the street. There is a warehouse and loading dock opposite the site on Roebling, and large trucks often block the sidewalk. It is impossible to walk on this section of Roebling without entering the busy street. It’s very unsafe.
The site address is 236 North 10th Street. From there you record your name (which is not required) and your email
address. The most important detail is to keep track of your service request number. Please send it to me, and I will share it with Levin’s staff. The more complaints they receive, the more likely they are to address the unsafe condition. If possible, please do so in the next few days because I plan to follow up with Levin next week.Thanks.
Hunter
I myself have seen men entering and exiting this property through the various holes in the fence on a number of occasions. I seriously doubt these gentleman can possibly be up to any good. I also fear this site (given the presence of a number of derelict automobiles) is being used as a place to dispose of hazardous materials (as if the ‘Burgh needs more toxic stuff underfoot). If you too have seen this kind or any other kind of suspicious activity, object to the deplorable state of this lot or simply take issue with the manifold safety issues this unsecured property presents please call 311 and contact Hunter at: hfa99 (at) hotmail (dot) com
Thanks!
Miss Heather
Photo Credits: Miss Heather & Miss Mousey Brown. You can see her Flickr set documenting this eyesore by clicking here.
NYS Flickr Pool
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