Flatbush residents say rats are taking over their apartments
Residents say the issue first started in July when a work stop order was issued, but the holes behind the scaffolding were never closed.
More Stories
Some Flatbush residents say that they’ve been rooming with rats for the past few months.
It started with a few noises in the walls that kept getting louder and louder.
Soon after, rats were seen running across the floors. Christine Napoleon says she and her family were pushed out.
"I'm staying by people,” said Napoleon. “My son is staying with people, my mom. We are displaced. I can't live with rats."
With the rats came high anxiety for Napoleon and her family, as she worries about disease and contamination.
She's resorted to spreading cayenne pepper and traps in every corner.
"I need help,” said Napoleon. “I need someone to help me with this. I want my life back.”
Residents say the issue first started in July when a work stop order was issued, but the holes behind the scaffolding were never closed.
"One time it was like crawling in her bed,” said one neighbor. “Like up on the bed because she can't move."
The neighbor said he mainly sticks around to take care of his bedridden aunt. He says it's been a frustrating battle every day.
"These things are huge,” he said. “I don't feel comfortable going to my own house and sleeping in my own bed, knowing that my heart is here under these conditions and rats are moving around the house…I won't leave her like that."
Despite the hundreds of complaints they've put out, the only fix from the landlord has been patching up holes inside the apartments with tape or foam.
Something these residents say the rats are biting right through. They say the patches ignore the root of the problem.
News12 reached out to the property management, but has not heard back yet.
