Home Away From Home

Our four recent homes

Five years ago a construction project started just inches away from our apartment, on property that once was a BP gas station. Actually, the construction project for a 12-story apartment building was so close to our home that part of our patio was taken over by the construction company.

Two years ago the project stalled when the money ran out. What we were left with was an ugly pit that smelled like a refinery due to soil soaked with gas from the former gas station.

A couple of months ago work began again.

All was going well until the smell came back, worse than ever.

We were able to keep the fumes at bay by closing all the windows and running the air conditioners 24/7. But, on April 26th, the smell got unbearable. Several people in the building called 311. Others wrote urgent emails to the co-op board to find out what was happening and what they could do to be safe from the fumes. We decided to evacuate and I rushed home from work.

Unfortunately, all the hotels in Park Slope were booked. Eventually I was able to find a Days Inn in nearby Sunset Park that had a room available for Thursday and Friday. Lisa and I hurriedly packed our stuff and headed out to pick up the kids at Beansprouts.

The kids were excited to be staying at a hotel, but mommy and daddy were a little less than thrilled with our accommodations. Parking was nonexistent. The front desk was enclosed in bulletproof glass. And, as we headed up to our room, a questionably insane woman in the elevator leaned over to Lisa and told her the rooms had bedbugs. Just what we needed.

The room was tiny. The blankets were disgusting. Lisa and I put up a brave front to keep the kids happy. And we went to bed.

Breakfast at Days Inn

We survived the first night. Stella and Marni were overjoyed to eat breakfast in the little hotel restaurant.

After breakfast I packed up the kids and drove back to the apartment. From there we went to school as usual.

Luckily, Friday was a very breezy day and the smell dissipated. We decided to forego the hotel room and stayed at home.

The following Wednesday the smell returned and Lisa booked a hotel room for three days at a nearby La Quinta Inn. So, again, we evacuated.

Breakfast at La Quinta

The La Quinta ended up being pretty acceptable. Larger room. Less scummy. And in our neighborhood.

We stayed there three nights and then headed to Albany for the weekend.

On Sunday night we checked into Hotel Le Bleu which is directly across the street from our apartment. We instantly fell in love with the snazzy accommodations. Big room. Great beds. Cool bathroom. And a nice restaurant on the roof of the building.

Ever since the first evacuation we had decided to look for a short-term sublet so we could escape the fumes for a month or two. Our luck changed for the better when we found out that a fellow PS 39 family had an empty apartment in their brownstone that we could move into.

And so, on Monday, we moved a bunch of our stuff into our new, temporary home in Park Slope.

Now we have a little bit of stability while we wait for the foundation work to be completed at the construction site.

The girls are happy. Lisa is coping. I am relieved.

In a couple of months we will look back at this challenge and chuckle. Maybe.

But, for now, the important thing is that we are okay.


PS... There were no bedbugs.

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