After living in Tompkins Houses for more than 10 years, Diana Tavarez said she thought safe living conditions in the apartment would be prioritized by NYCHA.

However, after multiple help tickets to NYCHA dating back to 2024, the issues are piling up. Most recently, she is concerned about a hole in her bathroom ceiling.

"It was constant tickets,” said Tavarez. “They would come fix, and now I have a hole in my bathroom. Water constantly leaks."

She says pieces of her ceiling fall all over the bathroom, including in her tub where showers and baths for her and her two daughters are always rushed.

"We have to constantly clean our toothbrushes every day because we find little crumbs of cement on top of it," said Tavarez. "I have to be on top of my 11-year-old who has autism and has been diagnosed with PICA. She puts little pieces of cement in her mouth, paint. I can clean it right now but if I come back in an hour, I'll find more."

Tavarez says there are also issues of rust, mold and broken pipes.

She says so far, NYCHA has only sent maintenance in to cover the parts of the ceiling with plastic - a Band-Aid over a deeper issue she feels continues to go unaddressed.

"Safe, livable housing conditions is human basic rights,” said Tavarez. “That's basic human rights. Do better. We deserve better. We do. New York City deserves better. I deserve better, my kids deserve better," she says.

A spokesperson for NYCHA tells News 12 they have now traced the source of the leak and are working to make those repairs first, before repairing Tavarez's ceiling.