The Bronx tops study as NYC’s moldiest borough
The borough has been named the moldiest in NYC, according to a recent study by the real estate website RentHop.
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The Bronx is topping the charts, but not in a way residents might hope.
The borough has been named the moldiest in NYC, according to a recent study by the real estate website RentHop.
News 12 visited Morris Heights, one of the areas with the highest number of mold complaints.
Black mold hides behind the closed doors of Ivey White’s hallway closet in her apartment at River Park Towers.
“Oh, it’s very bad. Oh, it smells,” White said.
Her linens are stored in a shopping cart next to the door, kept out of the closet to avoid the odor.
She says she’s been living with the problem for almost three years.
“The first year living here, I moved in September. By November by Thanksgiving, my house was flooded,” White said. “My family and friends couldn’t come over. We couldn’t have the Thanksgiving we wanted.”
The Bronx has led the city in mold complaints every year since 2019. Last year alone, the borough logged nearly 13,000 complaints.
White’s building ranked second in the borough for the highest number of mold-related reports.
“Yes, I’ve been trying to get rid of it. I’ve done everything I can think of,” she said, swatting away flies and roaches drawn to the moisture in her home.
She walked News 12 through her bathroom, where mold has overtaken another part of her apartment.
“I clean with bleach and stuff to try to clear out the flies,” she said. “Then I’ll take a shower. But it’s still uncomfortable.”
White says after multiple complaints to management, she was hopeful when maintenance finally responded but she was left disappointed.
“All they did was come scrape and paint over it,” she said. “And then the mold came back.”
She says this has been an ongoing struggle with building management and that it's one she will continue to fight until she can live safely in her home.
If you are dealing with mold in your apartment and your landlord or property manager has failed to fix the issue, you can report it by calling 311 or filing a complaint with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD may inspect the property, issue violations, and allow you to pursue legal action in housing court if the issue remains unresolved.
