NYCHA community center infested with dark mold

CONEY ISLAND — STAFF AT A NYCHA community center in Coney Island say a mold-infested maintenance closet has remained unrepaired for nearly a year, despite repeated service requests, raising health concerns for children and seniors who use the facility, reports City Limits.

Employees at the O’Dwyer Gardens Community Center say dark mold has spread across the closet’s walls and ceiling, producing strong odors and prompting staff to keep the door shut as much as possible – although they’re required to periodically access the supplies stored inside. Several workers reported nausea, headaches and respiratory symptoms.

NYCHA said its average response time for mold complaints at the development has dropped significantly, and that open work orders have declined sharply, adding that an inspector visited the site in late December. The authority has been under a court order to remediate mold complaints within two weeks for the last 11 years.

“They come in, observe it, then leave without saying when work will be done,” center program director Sadaf Sheikh told City Limits. “Now it’s December and it’s still like that. It’s been almost a year.”

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