The management of Studio Green apartments issued a pest-free apartment guarantee for new and current residents Wednesday. Jim Short, president of Campus Living Villages, Studio Green's parent company, said he issued the new policy partly in response to a March 24 article in The Review that reported bed bug and cockroach problems. Efforts on behalf of management are met with mixed reviews by tenants.
Short issued a statement on correcting pest problems.
"Because we are so confident that we have the bug problems under control at Studio Green, we have decided to issue a bug infestation-free guarantee," Short said in the statement. "If any new or current resident experiences a bed bug or cockroach infestation at Studio Green, the resident will have the option of relocating to another apartment in our community, at our cost, or canceling their lease."
He said this option will be available after the infestation is confirmed and management has tried to eradicate the bugs. Management will have one week to solve cockroach infestations and two weeks to eliminate bed bugs before tenants can relocate within the complex or cancel their leases.
"We are making this guarantee so that our residents can be assured that they will never have an ongoing problem with infestations of this type," Short said.
Short's statement comes on the heels of an online conversation about Studio Green via comments on The Review's Web site. When the article was published, five of the 13 comments posted noted pest, maintenance or administration complaints.
Short said new security measures are in place at Studio Green in response to recent crime near the complex, including the robbery of a pizza delivery driver in Studio Green's parking lot on April 1 and an armed robbery of two men on Thorn Lane on April 4.
Studio Green is equipping its parking lots with better lighting and is in planning stages for installing security cameras in the lots, he said. The complex is also being patrolled by additional Newark Police officers, as well as by a privately hired guard service.
"There are no amount of precautions we can take to ensure that nothing bad ever happens," Short said. "But we are committed to taking reasonable steps to reduce the likelihood of criminal activity at Studio Green."
Resident and doctoral student Tony Rivera said these safety precautions are positive features but should have been made earlier, before aesthetic upgrades to the complex.
"If they had put up the lighting first, rather than painting, that would have helped us more," Rivera said.
Studio Green spent approximately $800,000 on repainting, flooring and installing light fixtures in common corridors, Short said last month.
Steve Fox, a resident who graduated from the university last year, said the security measures are a good idea.
"I hope they do them," Fox said. "They desperately need them."
He said he finds the new pest-free guarantee promising.
"If they implement and publicize them, then I have full confidence in them," Fox said.
Rivera, who said his apartment was infested with cockroaches 17 out of the 18 months he has lived in it, said bug problems are to be expected with older apartment buildings like Studio Green, and that he gives management credit for taking action.
"They're doing the best they can with a bad situation," Rivera said.
Rivera said he received a lease-renewal notice from management a few days after he was quoted in the first article about Studio Green. The notice read, "We recognize the economy is volatile and for that reason we are not increasing your rent." Rivera said other tenants received the same notice.
Should he renew his lease, Rivera's rent would be $1180 including utilities, and not $1280 like he initially thought. He said the new price is reasonable, considering his current rent is $950 without utilities.
Junior Alex Koutek said he is planning to live in Studio Green despite its pest problems he discovered in The Review's article.
"The article made me more weary about living there, but it is one of the only options I have at this point," Koutek said.
He said he thinks Studio Green will still be a good place to live, given the good price of his future four-bedroom apartment and the complex's amenities.
"I am happy with the improvements they are making to Studio Green," Koutek said. "But I was disappointed that they failed to disclose knowledge of their cockroach problem beforehand, which for obvious reasons would have influenced my decision to live there next year."
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