Exclusive: Cockroach Infestation forces Bronx mother out of her home
Emani Fullard, who has a newborn baby, says the infestation has gotten so bad that she has had to temporarily move out of the unit.
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A cockroach infestation is taking over a Comunilife apartment on Boston Road.
Resident Emani Fullard says she began noticing the roaches about five months ago.
"I kept going downstairs, telling management there needs to be something done with the roaches and they just brushed it off," said Fullard.
Fullard, who has a newborn baby, says the infestation has gotten so bad that she has had to temporarily move out of the unit.
Comunilife says the infestation is being caused by the vacant unit next to Fullard's. They say the tenant passed away over a year ago and the apartment is sealed shut by court order.
"I had to throw out all my furniture, I had clothes that was being infested with roaches I had to throw that out, I just bought baby clothes for the baby I had to throw that out," said Fullard.
"An apartment is sealed when a tenant passes away without family and court approval is required to gain access to the residence. Our attorney has petitioned the Surrogate Court to expedite the process, but there has been little legal movement. We are trying to mitigate the situation by exterminating the sixth floor weekly, however, we will not be able to completely clear up the situation until we can clean out the sealed apartment," said Dr. Beverly Raudales, Chief Program Officer for Comunilife.
Fullard says in the meantime, she has had to pay out of pocket for traps and roach deterrent products to try to mitigate the infestation on her own.
Comunilife says that they'll be sending an exterminator out weekly for this issue and are working to move Fullard into a new temporary apartment.
