Ceiling collapse in an NYC woman's home brings a horrifying torrent of cockroaches: ‘I don't know how I'm ever going to sleep there'

Yahoo

4 hours ago

An Upper East Side tenant says she was forced out of her apartment and into temporary housing after a ceiling collapse in her bathroom unleashed water and live cockroaches into the unit.
The incident has since gone viral on TikTok and raised concerns about building safety and pest control in aging New York City rentals.
Carolyn D., a 30-year-old marketing professional, said the ceiling of her $2,400-a-month studio apartment gave way late one night in July, shortly after she returned home from a trip.
She had noticed a large crack above the toilet and contacted her super, who told her he would inspect it the next day. Hours later, as she lay down to sleep, the ceiling broke apart.
'It all busts through — just like pieces everywhere,' she told The Post in an interview. 'Then water starts falling. And then I look at the ground and all the debris and I see, like… I saw at least five to 10 cockroaches come into the debris.'
Carolyn, who has lived in the apartment for three years, said she screamed, climbed onto her couch to avoid the insects, and called her super immediately.
She left the apartment and spent the night in a hotel, and avoided a return to stay overnight in the unit since, living with a friend in the days that followed.
'I'm way too scared to close my eyes in my apartment anytime soon,' she said. 'I don't know how I'm ever going to sleep there.'
The tenant said her landlords acted quickly the next day, coordinating with her renters insurance provider, hiring an exterminator and scheduling a deep cleaning.
'They helped me clean up. They were really respectful of everything,' she said. 'They're paying me for a deep cleaning service … They've been really great working with my renters' insurance and everything.'
Her TikTok clip has since garnered more than 320,000 views and hundreds of comments expressing sympathy and revulsion.
'THE ROACHES omg I would've passed away,' one commenter wrote.
Another added, 'The roaches traumatized me and I wasn't even there.'
The incident has renewed conversations online about the value of renters' insurance in New York City.
Carolyn, who pays $17 a month for her policy, said, 'Renters' insurance is so important because you never know when stuff like this is going to happen.'
Although she credits her landlords with a responsive cleanup effort, she said the psychological toll has been significant — and that she doesn't plan to renew her lease when it expires in May.
'I definitely don't plan on renewing,' she said.
Some TikTok viewers have sent her money via PayPal to order takeout, a gesture she described as unexpected but emblematic of what she called a 'nice New York thing.'
Still, she remains wary of reentering the apartment.
'I told the deep cleaners everything. I want them to bleach and literally spend hours cleaning every inch,' she said. 'But I don't know.'
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