Evening rush delayed by bed bug in Forest Hills

A bed bug sighting in an MTA control tower prompted massive rush hour delays Wednesday. Photo via CDC.

By Jonathan Sperling

Call it Fumi-gate.

The presence of several bed bugs inside an MTA control tower caused serious delays on at least four Queens subway lines for four hours during Wednesday’s evening rush, as exterminators fumigated the site, according to the MTA.

Queens commuters were left stranded after an MTA employee discovered the bedbugs at around 4:30 p.m., inside of a control tower located at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue station.

Former MTA NYCT President Andy Byford on Wednesday explained that upon hearing of the bed bugs, the agency “immediately took action to fumigate the tower, which resulted in an evacuation until tower staff were able to safely return at approximately 7:30 p.m.”

Because the station serves as a terminal for the M and the R lines, the tower is necessary to facilitate trains on the line turning around to go back into Manhattan. While the tower was being fumigated, service on the M and R lines, as well as the E and F lines, which also serve the station, was severely delayed.

In a series of service alerts published on its website, the MTA described the bed bug-related delay as “an issue at the terminal.” Queens riders were encouraged to take the No. 7 train as an alternative.

The delays quickly reverberated through the system, slowing W trains and causing delays in other boroughs. To relieve pressure on the lines, the Long Island Rail Road began allowing MetroCard holders onboard at no additional charge at Woodside, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

However, by around 9 p.m., the MTA had stopped accommodating MetroCard holders on the LIRR while delays along the E, F, M, R and W lines persisted. Full service was restored by 11:15 p.m., according to the MTA.