NYC Apartment Overrun: 71-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Struggles.
A 71-year-old cancer survivor in the Bronx says she’s trapped in a rat-infested apartment, despite repeated pleas to her landlord.
Tearful Cora Robinson says she fights back with a piece of plywood—but the rats keep coming. “I thought it would block them along the baseboards, but they’re so big, they just jump over it,” she told ABC 7.
In a desperate attempt to protect her home, she placed a piece of wood to block the rats from the kitchen—but it didn’t work.
The breast cancer survivor says she would move if she could, but can’t afford it, and has been battling the infestation for nearly a year.
After spotting two rats rummaging through her kitchen on Friday night, her plans to host Easter were dashed.
She fears for her health—and for her dog’s—amid the ongoing exposure. “I can’t sleep, I’m not eating, and if this keeps up, I’ll end up in the hospital. I nearly did yesterday,” she said.
“I’m tired of cleaning rat droppings off the stove—it’s awful. Turn the oven on, and the smell hits you,” Robinson said.
To protect her dog, she keeps its water, bed, and food in her bedroom. “I can’t leave it out here—they’d get into it,” she added.
Robinson has filed multiple complaints with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which has previously cited her landlord. “I wish all these people would just come see—and smell—what it’s like,” she said.
The ordeal is taking a serious toll. “I’m just done. I’m so disgusted—it’s not right that I should have to live like this,” Robinson said.
According to reports, Asden Management and the landlords faced a 2023 lawsuit over allegedly unlivable conditions. A lawyer for the tenants told ABC 7 that the case is still pending.
Over 30 tenants sued, citing years of disrepair, including missing stoves, broken fridges, rat infestations, mold, and leaks. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development documented 561 open violations at the property, 206 classified as “Class C,” News 12 reported.
Douglas Henderson Jr., representing the tenants, said, “We’re not asking for the yellow brick road. We just want our tenants a decent place to live.”
Sherene Morris, a tenant and mother without a working stove, told reporters in 2024 that she also contends with rats and a broken fridge. “I reached out to the landlord three times, and they refused to do anything,” she said.
We reached out to Robinson and Asden Management for comment.
