News 12 first spoke to a group of Mount Hope tenants about a rodent infestation in their building in 2021. Since then, tenants claim the problem has only grown worse, prompting some to take matters into their own hands.
The building, located at 18-19 Weeks Ave., currently has a number of complaints, according to the city’s Department of Buildings website. However, none of these complaints report a rodent infestation.
Cellphone video from a former tenant shows the rodent infestation that she says forced her to leave the building in 2021.
Current tenant Thomas Galvashore says that after the problem continued to worsen, he had to use his own money to fix the issue.
“I was sitting in my room, and I saw this great big rat the size of a small cat,” said Galvatore. “I called the exterminator to fill in all this because that was open for a long time.”
Galvatore and other tenants have paid for their own private exterminator to seal up numerous holes in their apartments that tenants say the rodents are using to get inside.
Neighbors say that nearby street construction and a vacant apartment building next door have contributed to this infestation.
News 12 reached out to CYA Management regarding the condition of the building and are awaiting their response.
News 12 reached out to the city's Housing Preservation and Development department said that they have issued a violation for a mice infestation in one of the building's apartments, and that they ask tenants if they have any rodent or insect infestations.
They say property owners are "required to maintain their properties free of infestations of any pets", and that tenants with these issues should call 3-1-1.