A Bronx mother is calling for help from the New York City Housing Authority after she says she’s watched the walls in her apartment fall apart due to a leak in her kitchen ceiling.  

Ericka Russell, a mother of two, says for nearly a month she and her family have watched a small leak she says comes from the 16th floor grow worse and worse, making her 12th floor apartment feel unlivable.  

“Trying to cook now is a challenge,” said Russell. “I’m afraid plaster will fall into the food I cook, and God forbid I give it to my kids.”

Russell says she’s placed over 10 repair request tickets with NYCHA, and that a maintenance worker did come by a few weeks ago to look at the damages but didn’t return to make repairs.  

The leak is not the only point of concern for Russell’s Morris Houses apartment. In February, Russell says maintenance exposed her family to rodents when they broke a hole into her wall while working on a utility closet next door, saying that they covered the hole with wood but never repaired it fully.  

NYCHA provided News 12 a statement in response to this apartment’s conditions: 

"NYCHA staff have addressed the condition that resulted in a leak in the apartment and are working with the resident to schedule additional repairs and response, including plaster, paint, and pest extermination."