Bedbugs @ Daniel J. Flood Tower - Kingston, Luzerne County, PA

This facility has a problem.

Actually, they have several problems. Two of which are now my sister and I.

And this post.
 

They also have a bedbug problem. Of course, they'll tell you otherwise. I've spoken with their manager on several occasions, and the double-speak and CYA bullspit I endured was certainly anticipated, but the situation has now passed the point of no return.
  

Unit 9C ( Bedbug Ground Zero ) is in double-lockdown. Why?

It appears the little critters first showed up in unit 9C. How long they were there is unknown, but based upon the timeline of events, I'll put it a 90+ days prior to the date of this post. Evidently the problem in 9C was so bad that the previous tenant, who has been evicted and/or relocated, started to ask people if she could stay with them. When building management went to 9C and asked why she didn't want to stay in her own apartment, it became immediately evident that they were standing in bedbug ground zero.

At least...that's their current storyline. Now, let's fast forward a little.

I spoke with my mother on the 30th or 31st of October, at which time she told me of the "bugs" she first noticed in her apartment a day or two before, and went on to mention that her neighbor in the adjacent 9C had talked openly of her bedbug problem. For the record in case you're wondering, her former neighbor never visited my mother's apartment, and vice-versa. As it was a weekend and the building management was not in, I asked my mother to call and leave a message for someone from the building come to her apartment on Monday, 11/1/2010.

They did, and in my opinion, the manner in which this matter has been handled from that point forward has been somewhere between unacceptable and reprehensible. I believe my mother has been mistreated and disrespected. When I learned just yesterday that the furniture and other belongings have not yet been removed from 9C, I decided to pull the trigger on this post.

 

I was raised to respect my elders. I remember how my mom cared for her mother, a lifelong resident of the Georgetown and Mayflower sections of Wilkes-Barre, as she was dying of cancer. I've heard how she always spoke of her parents, her father being a WW I veteran and coal miner, with love and respect. I've seen how she treats other less fortunate than her. So to witness what has happened since the management of that building, and the company that owns them - Pennrose Management Company - was made aware of the issue is nothing short of infuriating. And I wonder how the families of all the grandmas and pop-pops that reside there will react when they learn what is going on at DJFT as, to date, the management of that building has not formally notified the ~200+ tenants that there are units infested with and/or being treated for bedbugs.

The folks at DJFT and Pennrose better step up to the plate and do what we have requested: Replace my mother's couch ( her choice of a piece of comparable quality ) and carpeting. Repaint her entire apartment. Have her entire apartment professionally cleaned. Put her up at a local hotel, including transportation to and from, while her unit is being cleaned and painted. And have her unit inspected bi-weekly for one year to ensure the critters do not return.

And we want this in writing on Pennrose's letterhead on or before 12/10/2010.

The management of DJFT is having an informational meeting about bedbugs on Wednesday, 12/8/2010 at 11 a.m. at their facility in Kingston, PA.

I hope the press is there.

Our senior citizens, and my mother, deserve better.

Mom & grandkids - Easter 2004