Bed-Stuy tenants say they’ve been living with rodents and unlivable conditions for years

Tenants at the Bed-Stuy Rehab Houses are calling on the New York City Housing Authority to fix rodent and living condition issues they say they’ve dealt with for years.  
Tenants from 671, 675, and 701 Willoughby avenues are demanding NYCHA take action.  
“The rats ate one man’s bird, bit the other man’s dog, and it’s becoming a problem,” said resident Bernadette Quick. “You hear the rats in the walls when you’re laying in your bed.” 
Multiple tenants spoke to News 12 sharing similar horror stories of hearing, seeing, and coming into contact with rodents at all hours of the day in their homes.  
They say the rats are able to enter their apartment through holes that were left by unfinished repairs and deteriorating infrastructure. They even say that there are so many rats around the building that it is hard to walk on the sidewalk around the area without running into one.  
NYCHA told News 12 in a statement that they have treated the Bed-Stuy Rehab Houses for rats 86 times since June of 2021, but that some of the units that were patched up were raided by rats that chewed their way back in.  
Tenants are not only worried about their health and safety, but their success.  
“When you're paying your rent on time and doing things to get to the next level,  perhaps buy a house or something, but that's not going to happen if you have to stay up all night, so you're missing work, my kids missing school,” said resident and father of three kids Jaymar Hoskins. “We're paying for hotel rooms… I just spent $600 in hotel rooms because of rats.” 
NYCHA did not elaborate on any long-term solution when responding to News 12.