Some Flatbush neighbors say they’re dodging danger every time they walk down Ocean Avenue due to rat poison that's been spilled across sidewalks, where both children and pets play.

Flatbush dog owner Justice Beckford Williams says that this summer he’s noticed rat poison scattered across the sidewalk on Ocean Avenue off Ditmas Avenue.

“I’ve noticed on that block and the blocks adjacent to it… it blows around, especially in the summer. I try to avoid blocks that have it, but it’s difficult sometimes. It’s unfortunate,” he said.

Neighbors say they’ve seen rat poison spilling onto the sidewalk since March and believe it’s coming from the Hazelbrook Older Adults Club.

“It’s a definite worry,” Williams said. “Luckily, I’ve had dogs a while, so I can peep what’s safe and what’s not.”

Neighbor Sabrina Cartan knows how deadly rat poison can be. She says one of her dogs died in November 2023 after ingesting it.

“One of our dogs, Lenny, had eaten some rat poison and he started to get sick. We didn’t know what was wrong. By the time we figured it out, it was already too late, and he died the day after Thanksgiving,” Cartan said. “It’s been a very tragic part of our family story.”

As of this week, poison could be seen scattered in the dirt behind a gate at the older adult's club. Neighbors say that just last week, it was spilling onto the sidewalk.

“As recently as last week, people were clearly stepping on it,” Cartan said. “There were broken-up bits. I could see the powder from it. It’s an unmistakable bright green block or powder, and it was just causing a public hazard right on the streets of New York.”

“There’s nothing to stop a little kid from thinking that it’s candy, picking it up, putting it in their pocket for later or putting it in their mouth,” she added. “It’s really dangerous, and it could kill them.”

Emails between a neighbor and the city Health Department show the senior center was told to clean it up back in March.

“It’s toxic to rats and to people and our pets,” Williams said. “Another layer of security needs to be put in, so we don’t find our pets getting sick randomly — because that shatters your whole world.”

“We walk them down this block pretty much every day, and I have to walk around all of this rat poison,” Cartan said. “It just brings back some really horrible, traumatic memories.”

Staff at the Hazelbrook Older Adults Club told News 12 they lease the property from Pilgrim Wesleyan Church. They said the center is run by the city and serves food, so they are not permitted to place poison themselves. Staff said they would reach out to the church’s pastor and the landscaping crew to fix the problem.

“I want to have them place it in the appropriate bait boxes,” Cartan said. “I don’t want to see loose rat bait anywhere around New York City. Like I said, it’s dangerous.”

News 12 received the following statement from the New York City Health Department:

"The Health Department did not apply this pesticide. The reporter and people who are concerned about unsafe use of pesticides should notify DEC Region II – the agency that enforces pesticide laws and regulates licensed exterminators."