Julian and Yannick Bannister have pretty much seen it all since founding New Beginning Cleaners in 2016, becoming experts in aiding hoarders during their tenure.
The sight of an apartment cluttered with mountains of trash and food cabinets swarming with cockroaches would be too much to stomach for many in the cleaning industry, yet this married couple is willing to step up and help change lives. They’ve become renowned for helping to transform unsanitary living spaces with respect and care for the owners, and without judgment.
The Bannisters established their Dumbo, Brooklyn based company with a yearning to help customers through a comprehensive cleaning service, but they never would have believed what their business would become until they came across their first hoarder a matter of months into their new venture.
“What began to be thought of as a maid service turned into a hoarder service because our first referral happened to be a hoarder,” Julian Bannister explained. “As we walked in the home, we looked at each other and thought this is different. The home was jam-packed with vermin, items from the 1960s, and even dead cats — it was a lot to take in. Even though we were not prepared for that, once we spoke with the owner who was in her 80s and because of a broken back and the loss of her son, we knew we could not leave her in that position,” Julian said.
Not only did the Bannisters completely transform their first client’s home, they took the time to be sympathetic and understand why the situation had grown so severe.
The word of their professionalism and kindness spread like wildfire, and the name New Beginning Cleaners became a beacon of hope for those who were facing eviction and health hazards due to hoarding.
Even in the digital age, the pair proved so popular that word of mouth skyrocketed the business.
“One of the rewards for us and why we love doing this is helping someone and giving them a safe environment to live in. When we take it to that completed phase and we leave the home looking like a hotel and everything is organized, it is so rewarding. When their family members tell others, it feels good because it means it is appreciated,” Yannick Jules-Bannister told amNewYork Metro.
While they have been thanked by families whose children saw their apartment floor for the first time through the Bannisters’ remarkable efforts, there is no escaping the fact that both men have witnessed some truly macabre sights and even violent encounters.
From extracting hundreds of bottles of urine from a single room and being besieged by hordes of cockroaches to even getting assaulted by those they are aiding after handling an item that sets off a violent reaction, the pair described how they have seen everything at this point. The Bannisters believe this experience should provide potential clients a sense of comfort and ease any embarrassment.
“Let’s just have a conversation, let’s get to know one another—we are not here to judge,” Julian said before Yannick added: “I would say just make the call. There is no obligation. Calling us does not make an obligation for us to come to your home.”
New Beginning Cleaners not only initiates their assistance by speaking with clients and taking the removal process step by step, but they offer retuning maid services to safeguard items from once again mounting up. However, this can also come with its own issues.
The cleaners must not only leave every object in the place they found it to ensure minimum stress levels on the homeowner, yet they also look to employ staff who share their same compassion and attention to detail.
With New York City emerging from the pandemic, and countless residents of the five boroughs having been housebound for almost two years, New Beginning Cleaners foresees great challenges to come. Nevertheless, perhaps more importantly of all, they also look forward to changing the lives of many more New Yorkers.
If you or some you know is having a hoarding problem, you can visit newbeginningcleaners.com or email info@newbeginningcleaners.com.
