For the past year, a mother in Bed-Stuy says she has been living in a flooded apartment.  

Shonette Austin spends several hours a day drying floodwater off of her apartment floor. A leak in her wall was the beginning of her problems, with the issue only getting worse.  

She says the Administration for Children’s Services has removed her children from her care due to the home’s flooding, mold and infestation.  

Austin says that the New York City Housing Authority came out to her apartment yesterday to vacuum some of the water, but that in the last year that she has dealt with this, they have not helped her make any permanent repairs to the damages in her home.  

Austin says she has placed over 21 maintenance repair requests to NYCHA and is begging them to put themselves in her shoes. She says that NYCHA is saying that her current situation is not enough of an emergency for her to get a transfer out.  

“Would you have your family living in something like this? Would you have your children sleep in a bedroom that is covered 90% in mold?... It is an emergency,” said Austin.  

News 12 has reached out to NYCHA for a statement, and this is what they had to say: "The leaks affecting this resident were caused by a broken pipe that needed asbestos abatement in an adjoining apartment. The asbestos on that pipe was abated today and a plumbing team has been dispatched to fully repair the pipe. Once the pipe in the adjoining apartment has been repaired we can proceed with addressing this resident’s additional repair needs."