Wellington Commons apartments on Detroit's west side had generated controversy July 9, 2009 when the management company attempted to illegally evict hundreds of tenants from the building. Bedbugs were in this buidling. (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe)
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
http://detnews.com/article/20100902/METRO01/9020414
Bedbugs put stop on mail delivery
Seniors in high-rise miss Social Security checks
GEORGE HUNTER AND MIKE WILKINSON
The Detroit News
Detroit -- Rain, sleet, and snow can't stop postal carriers from
completing their rounds -- but the fear of bedbugs has halted mail
delivery to a senior citizen high-rise apartment building.
The decision to stop delivering mail to the Warren West Apartments
came last week, after a mail carrier encountered exterminators in the
lobby, postal officials said. When the carrier was informed the
building was being sprayed for bedbugs, she decided to stay away.
Residents of the nine-story, 143-unit building say the stoppage
couldn't have happened at a worse time. The building, which houses
about 100 residents on Warren Avenue near Grand Boulevard, is run by the Detroit Housing Commission.
"This is the first of the month -- that's when the checks come," said
Robbie Wingate, 59, who suffered a stroke two years ago and receives a monthly Social Security check.
"We have a bedbug problem, but it's not so bad; the exterminator comes in and takes care of it," Wingate said. "But now they're refusing to deliver the mail. How dare they? I need my check to pay the rent, and so do a lot of other people in this building. There's people in
wheelchairs; people with no legs. How are they going to eat? This is
bad."
Ed Moore, spokesman for U.S. Postal Service Detroit District, said the
mail carrier got spooked when she saw exterminators "dressed in full
Hazmat gear."
"When the carrier delivered there last week, the exterminators asked
her why she was in the building, and said she couldn't be there
because of the bedbugs," Moore said. "At that time, the mail was
temporarily suspended. We won't put our carriers in harm's way."
Residents said they were never told delivery had been halted until
they called the post office and were informed the only way they could
get their mail was to travel to the Livernois Branch, about two miles
south.
"I had to pay someone $10 for a ride," said Nancy Cousin, 54. "But a
lot of people in this building are handicapped, and they can't even
get out."
Moore said postal officials decided Wednesday to have a truck deliver
mail outside the building.
"We're in the process of putting that together," he said. "We'll let
the residents know when we'll be out to their facility. Meanwhile,
we're working with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
and the apartment management to make sure the problem has been
rectified."
Eugene Jones, the Detroit Housing Commission executive director, said the situation was "preposterous" and his office was never informed about the decision to stop mail delivery.
"Nobody called us, or told us anything -- they just decided to stop
delivering," Jones said.
Fears of bedbug infestation have increased after recent news reports.
Last week, a study by a Memphis, Tenn.-based pest control company
named Detroit as the third-most bedbug-infested city in the United
States. The rankings were based on an analysis of call volume to 350
Terminix service centers across the country.
An outbreak of bedbugs was also reported at the upscale Riverfront
Apartments in downtown Detroit, prompting the property managers to
issue a written warning about the infestation.
"It's interesting that the mail never stopped getting delivered to the
Riverfront Apartments, but they won't deliver it to the public housing
apartments," said Jones of the Housing Commission. "What's wrong with this picture? I'm going to get to the bottom of this. These people
need their mail, and I'm going to get it for them as quickly as
possible."
Several residents in the building lobby Wednesday were angry about the development.
Michael Hunter, 66, said: "I had to go to the post office myself to
get my mail, and the supervisor told me the building was condemned."
Hunter added: "How can the building be condemned when people are still living here? The bedbugs are not that bad here; that's ridiculous."
The mail boxes for each unit are in the building's lobby, just a few
feet from the main entrance.
"Even if the building did have a huge bedbug problem, the mail carrier
wouldn't have to go anywhere near the apartments," Jones said. "Give
me a break."
ghunter@detnews.com">ghunter@detnews.com (313) 222-2134
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