Employees at 40 N. Pearl ask for stronger pest control
Bedbugs, mice plague workers in Albany building
Employees in a building at 40 North Pearl St. are asking the state’s Office of General Services to more aggressively combat what they describe as chronic mouse and bedbug problems there.
Two bug sightings this month, one identified by exterminators as a bedbug on the 11th f loor on Sept. 12, and another possible bedbug on the 15th f loor on Sept. 20, have prompted OGS to treat the affected areas, according to notices shared with the Times Union.
The building’s management has responded to individual bedbug and mouse complaints, laying out electronic mouse traps and following extermination protocol, which includes treatment of the affected area followed by inspections, according to the notices. But employees who spoke to the Times Union said they would like OGS take a more proactive approach.
“I’ve worked for New York state for the past 12 years and have never been subjected to working in these unsanitary conditions before. I have made a formal complaint to our union but no efforts have been made to exterminate entire building,” said one employee, who asked not to be named for fear of losing her job.
The Board of Elections, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance as well as some Office of Technology Services workers are at the location, also known as the Ten Eyck Building. The building is shared with a diner and a convenience store, and is attached to the Hilton Albany.
State workers in the building say they are rattled by the bedbug notices. One employee said that after work she removes her clothes in her garage and bags them in fear of bringing bedbugs into her home.
In one notice from OGS, staff were encouraged to try and catch mice themselves. Some employees have
even brought their own traps from home to help combat the problem.
Insects and rodents have not been observed at Pearl Street Diner during routine inspections since 2015, according to the Albany Department of Health website.
A spokeswoman for OGS said that the agency has integrated pest control plans in all of its buildings, but acknowledged that mice and “a few adult bedbugs” have been found at the North Pearl Street building.
“As the weather turns colder, mice enter buildings to find warmth, including 40 North Pearl. We are currently in the process of aggressive mouse control, specifically at 40 N. Pearl,” OGS spokeswoman Heather Groll said.
Regarding the bedbugs, Groll said
they are “commonly brought from home to work on people’s clothing . ... OGS always takes this issue extremely seriously and addresses it with professional pest control procedures and protocols. There is no issue at the present time.”
The aging structure at 40 N. Pearl Street has had several issues in recent years.
In 2016, more than 1,000 employees were sent home after four floors were flooded by a ruptured pipe. Last year, dozens of state workers were sent home when the air conditioning system was turned off by OGS on a scorching hot day due to renovations on the building.