‘I’m afraid to be here’: Brooklyn woman alleges son ingested mice feces due to rampant infestation

An East New York woman alleges her 2-year-old son ingested mice feces after complaining of a mouse infestation last year.

News 12 Staff

Aug 6, 2021, 11:47 PM

Updated 1,085 days ago

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An East New York woman alleges her 2-year-old son ingested mice feces after complaining of a mouse infestation last year.
Jasmine Graves says her newly renovated building isn’t as nice as it appears to be.
She says the building is infested with mice and her two-bedroom apartment is no longer a safe place to live. Her children are terrified of the creatures.
"They're afraid that either a mouse is going to come out, or their toy is going to have something on it,” says Graves. “So, we stay cooped up in my one room all day or we just avoid being in the house, so we don't have to interact with the mice."
The tenant says catching the mice has become normal.
"I catch on average three a night but if you were to sit for five minutes, you would hear them chewing through the walls,” says Graves. "Climbing up on top…and I know people might say, 'Oh, it's just mice.' I'm petrified."
Although last year was her first time witnessing a mouse inside the apartment, she says since then they’ve multiplied.
"You catch three, there's four more,” says Graves.
News 12 is told when Graves contacted management, she was provided mouse traps instead of having an exterminator coming by to fix the problem.
However, her breaking point came when she said her 2-year-old son ingested mice droppings which resulted being hospitalized with a high fever.
"He ingested it! So when we got there, he happened to have strep throat from it… his fever was so high. I'm afraid to have my children here, I'm afraid to be here,” says Graves.
Graves tells News 12 she hopes legal representation won’t be necessary, but if the problem persists, she is considering suing.
"I've made 311 complaints, management via phone, via email,” says the Brooklyn woman. “I've reached out to the heads of management, corporate of management, nothing has been done.”
News 12 reached out to building management company Livonia Common for comment, but has not yet heard back.
A statement from the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development says, “Inspectors have not been able to access the apartment to assess the problem. We will take action if owners fail to uphold their responsibility to maintain safe and quality housing."


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