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HELP!! My apartment is toxic

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HELP!! My apartment is toxic

Postby justagirl » Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:52 pm

Hi Im a fairly new tenant its been less than a year. Since about the second week I moved into this first floor apartment Ive noticed really bad smells. It comes from the sinks ,toilets and the closet where there's a hole. Ive bought alot of air freshners ,damp rid all types of stuff. In general this apartment is extremly moist btw. I keep a window open with a fan blowing all the time even in the dead of winter. If I dont than the apartment will smell. I left for a weekend once came back and the smell was horrendous. It had a moldy mildewy smell. My kids bedroom has a mildewy smell as well but when I look around I cant find the source . The smell is just there no matter what I do.I spoke to NYCHA about it and was basically blown off. The next day I noticed they used some type of perfume which lasted about a week and i could smell it through the pipes around the apartment.

Friday I noticed a smell in the bathroom. I couldnt pinpoint. It smelled like rotten eggs . I kept cleaning the bathroom and using bleach and it didnt help. Needless to say by Saturday morning the whole apartment reeked of sewer gas. I called the emergency nycha hotline and was told "It's just a smell everyone is off work we cant have someone fix it until Monday" I said do you understand that me and my kids are inhaling SEWER GAS and it STINKS ? Once again I was blown off. Im cold because the windows are open and it still stinks in here. I have lost my appetite. Yesterday my eyes were burning.

My daughter never had any problems breathing but ever since we moved in here she has suddenly been diagnosed with asthma and is constantly coughing . I dont know what to do. Tommorow morning Im going to speak to my housing assistant and tell her i wanted to be moved to a higher apartment immediately but my next door neighbor said she has the same problems moved in a month before i did and was refused to move .

Why do i pay the same rent as everyone else YET I have to shell out all this money for air freshners ,keep my windows open constantly and people on the higher floors just get a NORMAL apartment ?! It just isnt fair !

Ive read about sewer gas and they said its toxic! I can literally taste the gas in my mouth and NYCHA doesnt deem it as a serious problem.

After talking to them what should be my next step? I have a feeling they may just use that perfume crap they used last time. Not to mention this place attracts waterbugs. It scares my daughter. If she sees one she breaks down in tears and runs for her life . She's only 4 years old . Not to mention im afraid of those huge buggers too. My mom came over one weekend and saw one so big she was afraid to hit it with the shoe. I see these things atleast twice a week in this place .

Ever since I moved in here I cant sleep I go to bed like 2:30 am everyday , im irritable and im not comfortable in this apartment. I wont even decorate it because it doesnt feel like a home to me . I had plans before i knew of these problems.. I was like wow im going to paint hang up pictures buy some nice carpet get a fish tank ...I havent done any of those things to date .
justagirl
 
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Postby TenantNet » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:04 pm

Moved from Rent Regulated; this appears to be NYCHA.
TenantNet
 
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