Saturday, October 25, 2014

Biohazard scrubbing begins at places visited by Ebola doctor


The Gutter will soon be the cleanest place in New York.


A biohazard company descended Friday night on the Brooklyn bowling alley where ­Ebola-afflicted doctor Craig Spencer played a few frames — to rid the place of any trace of the deadly disease.


The hipster hot spot’s decontamination is being done by Bio-Recover Corp., which also handled the cleanup job at Spencer’s Harlem apartment.


The company promised a top-to-bottom cleanup, from the holes in the bowling balls to the light switches.


The first step is to use a fogging machine to circulate disinfectant throughout the facility.


Workers must focus particularly on the bowling balls. Traces of the virus could remain in a finger hole, and be transferred to another player’s face.


“Of course, you go inside the ball,” said Keith Capolino, who is president of Bio-One, another biohazard cleanup company.


“It’s the biggest risk of infection. We would spend the most time in those areas.”


Cleaning the bathrooms and any areas where food and drinks are served would also be labor-intensive, said Capolino.


Porous objects, like bowling shoes, could be discarded to save time, or could be manually cleaned.



Dr. Craig Spencer (right) and Morgan Dixon.Photo: Instagram



The Health Department said on Friday the alley was completely safe — as were the other spots Spencer visited before he was quarantined at Bellevue.


The Health Department also said there was no Ebola risk at the Brooklyn-based Hope Program where Spencer’s fiancée, Morgan Dixon, worked.


Spencer had coffee at the Blue Bottle Coffee stand on the High Line park, and ate at the popular Meatball Shop’s branch on Greenwich Avenue. He also rode the L, A, and 1 trains.


New Yorkers were skittish about whether Spencer left traces of the disease behind in his wake.


L-train rider Anastacia Samuel, 22, of Brooklyn wore blue medical gloves for her commute.


“I don’t play with my health,” she said at the Union Square station. “They need to find a cure for Ebola. I’ll be worrying every day until they find a cure.”


Andy Reyes, 24, wouldn’t touch any subway pole when he was riding the 1 train.


“I’m sticking to myself,” he said. “I’m concerned about contracting the virus.”


In Harlem, Spencer’s neighbor Stan Malone, 45, said that four of his relatives had moved out of the doctor’s building to be on the safe side.



The Gutter was completely empty outside of a biohazard team attempting to clean the alley.Photo: Wayne Carrington



“This really hits home. I believe it’s going to get worse,” he said. “I think this whole building should be quarantined now.”


But at the spots where Spencer drank coffee and ate, New Yorkers said they weren’t worried at all.


“I’m still going to go. It’s not an airborne disease,” said Meatball Shop fan Josh Burke, 27, of the West Village. “This place is legendary.”


Workers could be seen scrubbing down the shop and mopping, wearing latex gloves.


The restaurant’s owner, Daniel Holzman, was grateful for the support from his customers and the city. “I just want to say how proud I am to be a New Yorker,” he said.


On the High Line, coffee drinkers said they weren’t worried about catching the disease either.


“I’m not nervous,” said Frank Pizutta, 76, who sipped a latte from the cafe. “He didn’t have any of the symptoms when he came here. We wouldn’t be vulnerable to it.”



Biohazard teams enter the bowling alley in Brooklyn to scrub it down for Ebola.Photo: Wayne Carrington






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