From TENAC
Feb. 18th, 2008 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leftyjewThe whole text is in the cut, but I thought this line in particular was pretty funny: RATS 3 – BEDBUGS 1
The above is not a baseball score, but an update on District rat and bedbug infestation. Regarding rats, we are talking about their proliferation in public parks, notably Dupont Circle Park, under the control of the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Park Police, but surrounded by land administered by the D.C. government. This anomaly raises key problems of jurisdiction, or who controls what. Rat and bedbug curtailment city-wide, except for federally-controlled land, is the job of the D.C. Department of Health and the Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Rat abatement on federal lands falls to the NPS. Bedbug infestation in apartment buildings is now becoming pandemic in the District, and is an increasing public health concern, to say nothing of the rat problem.
The city is trying, which is more than can be said for the NPS and the U.S. Park Police who are “absentee landlords” in Dupont Circle Park and other parks under federal control. All are gravely understaffed and poorly cared for. NPS has done little on rat control, and the U.S. Park Police do little more than wake up homeless people on park benches. The District should control all public land in the city, except for clearly demarcated federal property.
NPS’s dereliction of duty is also nationwide, including the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty Park. Locally, there have been reported sightings of the NPS and the U.S. Park Police in Dupont Circle but they have not been independently confirmed. Rats in Dupont Circle Park are having a field day and the Chinese have not helped by declaring this the “Year of the Rat.” Rats are celebrating everywhere. In Dupont Circle Park, they hold a banquet every night. All are invited. The only problem is that we are on the menu.
The NPS, the U.S. Park Police, and the District Government must cooperate on rodent control. District home rule enhancement is key. Bedbug control must become a top District priority. Landlords charged with infestation should be fined heavily and rents reduced in affected buildings. The District needs greater power all across the board.
The above is not a baseball score, but an update on District rat and bedbug infestation. Regarding rats, we are talking about their proliferation in public parks, notably Dupont Circle Park, under the control of the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Park Police, but surrounded by land administered by the D.C. government. This anomaly raises key problems of jurisdiction, or who controls what. Rat and bedbug curtailment city-wide, except for federally-controlled land, is the job of the D.C. Department of Health and the Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Rat abatement on federal lands falls to the NPS. Bedbug infestation in apartment buildings is now becoming pandemic in the District, and is an increasing public health concern, to say nothing of the rat problem.
The city is trying, which is more than can be said for the NPS and the U.S. Park Police who are “absentee landlords” in Dupont Circle Park and other parks under federal control. All are gravely understaffed and poorly cared for. NPS has done little on rat control, and the U.S. Park Police do little more than wake up homeless people on park benches. The District should control all public land in the city, except for clearly demarcated federal property.
NPS’s dereliction of duty is also nationwide, including the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty Park. Locally, there have been reported sightings of the NPS and the U.S. Park Police in Dupont Circle but they have not been independently confirmed. Rats in Dupont Circle Park are having a field day and the Chinese have not helped by declaring this the “Year of the Rat.” Rats are celebrating everywhere. In Dupont Circle Park, they hold a banquet every night. All are invited. The only problem is that we are on the menu.
The NPS, the U.S. Park Police, and the District Government must cooperate on rodent control. District home rule enhancement is key. Bedbug control must become a top District priority. Landlords charged with infestation should be fined heavily and rents reduced in affected buildings. The District needs greater power all across the board.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 01:22 pm (UTC)[/irony]
That sucks about the bedbags though.... I feel bad whenever I hear about other people having to deal with it. That shit was NASTY.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-19 02:17 pm (UTC)