Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Couple Claims City Housed Them In Bedbug-Infested UWS Nightmare Hotel
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 27, 2016
Modified Feb 27, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 27, 2016
Modified Feb 27, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A couple who were relocated by the city after their Brooklyn apartment burned down in a fire say they have been stuck in a bedbug-infested Upper West Side hotel. "I have bedbug bites all over my skin and management is doing nothing," Cherise Robinson told PIX11.
Hairdresser Robinson, and her mechanic husband, have been living at the Manhattan Hotel at 308 West 94th Street, courtesy of the Department of Housing, ever since they lost their East Flatbush apartment in a fire in November of 2014. The city has paid $1,700 a month for one room with bath for the couple for the past 15 months.
"I have rats, roaches and now bedbugs," Robinson said, adding that neither the city nor hotel management have responded to her complaints. "I packed up all my stuff, but still no one came."
Robinson and her husband would rather move back to East Flatbush, but no one from the city is helping them find a place. "Mayor de Blasio's approach to homelessness falls way short of the promise," Aaron Biller, President of the Neighborhood in the 90s, Inc., told PIX11. He estimated that putting the couple up for so long has cost taxpayers around $25K: "There has to be a better way, because this is very wasteful of taxpayers dollars."
Last month, a couple recorded a horrifying video of bedbugs running amok at the Astor on the Park hotel, within walking distance of the Manhattan Hotel.
Tagged
bedbugs
cherise robinson
Upper West Side
uws
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
GOP candidates in NY face a changed landscape on immigration
The 'migrant crisis' has changed markedly since the voters went to the polls two years ago.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 28, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
Mamdani plans redesign of Brooklyn's Third Avenue after nurse killed in hit-and-run
Sunset Park residents and street safety advocates have called on city officials to make the avenue safer for years.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
Mamdani plans redesign of Brooklyn's Third Avenue after nurse killed in hit-and-run
Sunset Park residents and street safety advocates have called on city officials to make the avenue safer for years.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
NJ Gov. Sherrill: Election is secure, noncitizens taken off voter rolls
By
Michael Sol Warren
Ex-NYPD officer again faces murder charge in George Washington Bridge shooting
By
Samantha Max
Former NYC buildings boss helped reopen mayor's favored restaurant despite health violations
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .