Bushwick resident says NYCHA left mold untreated; calls for change
“My house is not a home anymore,” Lawson said. “You walk in — you don’t even feel comfortable having company.”
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Powdery patches of black mold cover Sherrell Lawson’s kitchen cabinets, while bubbles swell in the ceiling — damage she says has gone unaddressed for more than a year.
“My house is not a home anymore,” Lawson said. “You walk in — you don’t even feel comfortable having company.”
With her kitchen unusable, groceries and cookware spill onto the floors of her kitchen and living room. Lawson says she filed multiple maintenance requests with the New York City Housing Authority, but the tickets were marked “closed” without the work ever being completed.
“We’re putting in orders, we’re making different phone calls. A year later, we’re still here,” she said. “They brush it off, they put you on the back burner, and it’s just not right.”
The problems, she says, go beyond mold. Sections of flooring near her bathroom and kitchen have been torn up, leaving exposed materials that raised concerns about asbestos. She says she has since been battling serious health issues that forced her out of work and into doctors’ offices for weeks.
“Shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness — just constant,” Lawson said. “You just don’t know where it’s coming from.”
After being contacted for comment, NYCHA responded within an hour. Maintenance crews arrived at Lawson’s apartment, removed damaged cabinets and began a full cleanup.
“We already got the sink removed, the cabinets are done,” Lawson said. “These are things that could’ve been done a year and a half ago.”
In a statement, a NYCHA spokesperson tells News 12 that residents who have previously reported mold or leaks through the Customer Contact Center should escalate unresolved cases to the independent, court-appointed Ombudsperson Contact Center for further action.
