Lourdes Brown says she went to the Clairidge Cinemas in Montclair on Friday night to see “The Skin I Live In” — only to discover after the movie that the skin she lives in was “now itchy and swollen from bed bugs.” Brown told us that a section of seats in Montclair’s only remaining art house movie theater were cordoned off with yellow tape. “Now we know why,” she says.
This is the second time in recent weeks that a reader has written to us claiming a Clairidge bed bug attack. I bought a ticket to yesterday’s 4:40 p.m. showing of “Skin” in Theater 1, but only sat down long enough to take a few pictures of the theater. And indeed, the referenced yellow caution-tape was there, cordoning off about five rows in the front of the theater.
When I asked the manager, a young woman with a badge saying Jessica, what the reason was for the yellow tape, she answered, “We’re taking this matter very seriously. I’ll give you a number to call.”
“So it’s about the bed bug thing,” I asked.
She nodded yes, and fled to get the number for Clearview Cinema’s spokeswoman Beth Simpson Crimmins.
Crimmins gave us the following statement this morning, and has declined to answer any further questions:
Our priority is to deliver a positive movie-going experience for our patrons. We have proper protocols in place to regularly and thoroughly inspect all of our theatres and any theatre that we suspect might need treatment is addressed immediately.
Too bad. Because as a lover of the Clairidge and the art house movies it shows, I have a lot of questions.
1. When did the bed bug infestations begin? And how have they been treated?
2. How many people have reported bed bug bitings? Have these been confirmed by doctors?
3. What is the Clearview’s policy on refunds or reparation for victims of bed bugs?
4. Why are certain seats cordoned off by yellow tape, and does management think the bed bugs can’t crawl beyond that area?
5. Will the skin I live in be safe if I go see Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” this weekend?
This is a colossal marketing nightmare. For a movie theater that’s not taking in $$ showing Twilight – inaction sounds like a nice way to run a business into the ground. I can think of four movies that I have NOT gone to Claridge to see since this report came out.
I can’t believe they are still selling tickets under these circumstances. That’s completely irresponsible and damaging not only to patrons but to neighboring businesses.
Shouldn’t this be considered some sort of public health issue that requires specific remediation. That’s disgusting.
what a horrid attempt at comedy.
This might be a great opportunity to destroy the interior and restore it to its former glory. I saw “The Tree of Life” there, which is one of the most beautifully photographed films of all time, in one of the worst “theaters” I’ve ever been in. Auditorium #4 is tiny, sideways, and oblong. The furthest seat back is still too close to the screen. Just terrible. Fumigate, firebomb, and start over.
Over priced parking fees and now this? I really want to keep my money circulating in Montclair but…
Overpriced parking fees?
I agree. Find another town who charges as much as we do for metered parking. Outside of the major cities, you ain’t gonna find it.
You just don’t get it ! Bed-bugs are known to abhor the color yellow. They see the yellow tape and turn around, & go the other way, to nestle into the popcorn that has been popped and waiting to be sold !!
They’ll get into the candy counter and Voila, Milk Duds are Milk Bugs.
Public health issue? Nah, the markets will sort it out, if we just get out of their way.
I would advise Clairidge to obtain the services of a good PR consultant, come up with a plan to eradicate these little buggers, make it all public, and do it toot sweet. Otherwise they’re going to go out of business. Perhaps the town of Montclair could bail them out with a $100m loan. Why not!?
Maybe we can install a bike rack for the bedbugs
Hey bed bugs, you’re supposed to be in people’s beds, not their movie theatres.
Quality of life keeps diminishing daily.
It keeps sneaking up on us like old age.
It’s time to occupy life.
Very true Paz. Look to the cause. Why were bed bugs essentially eradicated between WWII and the mid 90′s? In 1996, the Clinton administration via the EPA banned whole classes of pesticides effective against bedbugs and other pests.
We should celebrate the infestation as a return to our natural state and a necessary phase on our march toward Ecotopia!
‘Bedbugs vs. the bald eagle’ coming soon to a theatre near you!
I reported this as a problem to the manager two months ago, in August.
We went to see “Thunder Soul”, and were by bed bugs covered by the end of the movie.
It’s not the kind of thing you notice right away, nor do you really expect it.
But slowly, while watching the movie, I began to notice light itching, and little “bite” sensations.
While I was walking out of the movie, I could see them all over me.
My wife got bit slightly, but I got hit really bad.
When we got to our car, I put most of my clothes in the trunk, and wore just enough to get home. At home, I threw a few things away, stripped down in the backyard, and washed what was left in hot water, and immediatley into a hot dryer.
I had bites all over my body that lasted for two weeks.
My wife and I come down from North Jersey to Montclair all the time, and are regulars at the Claridge, but honestly have not been back since.
What’s most discouraging is that this was two months ago, and now I’m reading that it’s still a problem that clearly hasn’t been addressed. I’m surprised the town hasn’t got involved. I can’t believe this won’t spread to other businesses if left unchecked. The last thing anyone needs is to carry bedbugs back home.
We were actually thinking of giving it a shot and going to the movies tonight in Montclair, but a google search revealed this article, and I have to say we’re heartbroken. This is one of the only theaters showing quality films, and we always had a great experience there. We would go weekly, and looked forward to what films were being booked. Yes, the screens are small, but the staff seemed to really care. But this is a huge problem, that can’t be remedied by telling a customer not to sit in a certain group of seats.
Ectopia… love it!
Sounds awful, north. I love that theater, too, but I won’t go back until I hear a full account from the management that convinces me the bugs are gone.
Actually Roo, the “market” will sort it out quite efficiently. If people avoid going to the theater out of a real concern over the inadequate steps taken to remedy the problem, management will be faced with a stark choice: get rid of the bugs, or go out of business. That’s the market at work. Better than yellow tape.
Right ROC!
It’s Clinton’s fault.
Never mind that DDT, the pesticide most often used as a base in bedbug treatments, was actually banned in the US in 1972, well before Clinton was on the scene.
And never mind that the NYC Housing Council and the Mayo Clinic offer increased and widespread international travel, particularly to and from countries with little or no treatment programs, as components in the spread.
No, let’s blame a lib! Its ROC’s favourite parlour game.
Can we get him for AIDS and sleep apnea, too? Or is that Obama?
Hey Claridge manager,
Put away your DDT now!
Give me spots on my Milk Duds,
But leave me the birds and bees (and the bedbugs!)
PLEASE….
Everybody join in (even you, ROC) — Don’t it always seem to go, ……