Sewage flows in East New York apartments after rain

Torrential rainfall left some East New York public housing tenants to wade through sewage in their own apartments Wednesday. Residents on the ground floor of the Cypress Hills Houses at 730 Euclid Ave.

News 12 Staff

Jul 18, 2007, 9:50 PM

Updated 6,291 days ago

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Torrential rainfall left some East New York public housing tenants to wade through sewage in their own apartments Wednesday.
Residents on the ground floor of the Cypress Hills Houses at 730 Euclid Ave. say dirty water flooded their homes around 8 a.m.
"This nasty black water just started to bubble up from the tub and out of the toilet until it overflowed," said Desiree Johnson. "My cat [litter] box came floating down the hall."Other tenants were more concerned about their health than the muck. "I have an 8-year-old daughter here and we're all asthmatics in this apartment," a resident said.
Water also backed up in upper-level apartments and in the parking lot of the complex, flooding vehicles.
"When rain happens like this, stoppages happen. Sewers get backed up also because people have thrown things out in the toilet that shouldn't be thrown out," the New York City Housing Authority said in a statement.
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