Watch CBS News

Rats The Size Of Cats?? NYCHA Tenants Have Video To Prove It

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Furious tenants of a public housing project in the Bronx were pleading for help Monday, saying their buildings are overrun with rats -- and they're not kidding. They have the video to prove it.

But we should warn you, the pictures are not for the squeamish.

"I'm traumatized," tenant Veronica Martinez told CBS2's Marcia Kramer.

You'd be traumatized, too, if you had the same kitchen as Martinez.

NYCHA rats
Tenants in the Claremont Consolidated Houses in the Bronx are furious with the city over the rats they say they have to deal with all the time in their apartments. (Photo: CBS2)

Rats. An entire family of rats, some as big as cats, have taken over, hopping in the sink, into pots and pans. It's absolutely gut wrenching.

"I should never have to experience not one but seven rats in my kitchen," Martinez said. "It's disgusting. All over the stove, the washing machine, they just invaded my apartment."

MORECity Hall Releases Emails That Appear To Show Mayor Tried To Hide Extent Of Lead Paint Problem In NYCHA Housing

And she's not the only tenant at the New York City Housing Authority's Claremont Consolidated Houses in the Bronx who are "ratting out" the problem.

"My wife can hardly sleep because you hear them in the walls," one tenant said.

Asia Clemente's 1-year-old son was bitten by a rat. She wants Mayor Bill de Blasio to fix the problem.

"If we're paying you rent we deserve to live like human beings, not live like we're savages, because we're not," Clemente said.

MOREFeds Force City To Pay Billions In NYCHA Settlements As Remedy To "Deplorable Conditions"

What makes the situation worse is that garbage is left out in the courtyard and the residents say it breeds more rats.

Tenant Marilyn Veguilla took a picture of the garbage there on Monday morning. Of course, it was magically cleaned up before reporters arrived, but some of the opened trash cans remained.

"I got small kids upstairs. There's about four of us with asthma. We cant be dealing with this kind of condition," Veguilla said.

"It was as if that family was living in a sewer, infested with rodents. I think we're sick and tired of seeing the Housing Authority and the city at large treat NYCHA residents as second-class citizens," Bronx City Councilman Ritchie Torres said.

FLASHBACKBronx Public Housing Residents Complain Of Rat Infestation

Bronx Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson said Mayor de Blasio should see the conditions first hand.

"Come to Claremont Consolidated," Gibson said, "and see how your residents, how our constituents, are living day to day. It's not acceptable. You wouldn't live like this."

NYCHA agreed, saying it's now taking steps to deal with the problem.

"Our residents should not have to live in these conditions. We apologize to our residents and will continue to vigilantly monitor this situation," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The agency said it intends to come up with a comprehensive plan that will include inspections and fixing unsafe conditions.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.