YORK, Pa. — A York woman said she is fed up and hopeless from bed bugs and roaches inside her home. Sherry Alonso contacted FOX43 because she said she is not getting help or answers from her landlord or the city.
“I live with my lights on because if I don’t, I’m attacked by roaches. Thousands of them,” said Alonso as she pointed to one crawling on her counter. She said her apartment on West Princess Street has been infested since she moved in back in 2014.
Alonso’s cupboards in her kitchen are virtually empty. “The stuff in the cupboard is covered with roaches. My dog can’t even have a drink of water without sucking up roaches,” said Alonso.
Her clothing sits outside on racks on her porch. “If I leave them in here I get bedbugs or roaches. ”
Making matters worse, she has cancer and other health issues. She lives on a fixed income and said medical bills from the infestation are adding up.
“I had to have my hand cut open because I got bit and it infected my hand and my arm. My dog got bit, that was another bill. I have bites on my arms, my chest, from bed bugs,” she said.
“My husband couldn’t hear and we couldn’t figure out why. A roach went in his ear. That was a doctor’s visit.”
Up until now she couldn’t afford to move. “It’s not fair that the poor, the disabled, have to live like this,” said Alonso. She now has a new place to live, but her new landlord will not let her move with any of her belongings.
“I’m ticked that there is no help for the people who need it. Landlords like this should not be able to get away with it. Someone has to start making them accountable. For what people lose, and their health.”
Alonso said the city has inspected the property several times and recently gave her landlord a deadline to fix a sewage problem and hire a professional to exterminate.
Another tenant on the third floor held up a bag filled with bed bugs he had collected in the past three days. “They are all over the building,” said Alex Gonzalez. He said when he moved in he was assured the house did not have bed bugs. He now sleeps with exterminator spray next to him. “I just moved here two months ago. Since I moved here, that’s what I’ve been dealing with. I go to work with bite marks, even in my eyes.”
FOX43 reached out to ity officials. Steve Buffington, Deputy Director of Permits, Planning, and Zoning said, “This is an ongoing investigation and I cannot comment, other than to say that we are aware of the matter and are following up.”
As we wrapped up interviews, the property manager pulled up. Trying to get answers, FOX43 confronted the woman, but she refused to talk. We also tried to call the property owner, Gervasius Brown, but we were hung up on.
