The MTA is still buggy.
Less than a week after delaying Queens trains for the same problem, a subway station tower is set to again be fumigated due to another bed bug sighting, according to an MTA source.
The insect was spotted Monday afternoon at the Forest Hills-71st Street Avenue tower, the source said. It was secured and taken care of, and the tower will undergo another fumigation.
While there was no impact on subway service this time, there were hours of delays on January 22 when two of the pesky bugs were seen right ahead of rush hour. That incident caused the tower to be evacuated and fumigated immediately — with staff unable to return for around three hours, MTA President Andy Byford said at the time.
The worker who saw those bugs was operating the switch to change lines from local to express, and because no employees were allowed to continue working at the tower during fumigation, trains on the E, F, M, R and W lines were delayed and re-routed, according to the MTA.
On Monday, four chairs were set to be removed from the office, the source said. No bugs had been seen on the chairs, but the source noted the items had become a cause of concern from the workers. Those chairs were to be replaced by smooth-surfaced chairs.
The agency has not yet found where the bugs were coming from, the source said. There was no word of any bed bugs on any MTA subway trains in either situation.
