Brooklyn-born Eduardo Guarnieri has been living at a NYCHA complex at Beach 40th Street and Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, Queens for around four years. 

And while the apartment offers a roof over his head, the 35-year-old says it’s far from being what he would describe as a home.

Guarnieri has been dealing with a rodent infestation he says began a few months ago. 

“At first, I just spotted one. I didn’t think anything of it because I caught it, and then it started to be more than one, and then I moved my refrigerator one day, and I saw four run out,” he said.

“This place should be condemned,” he added. 

Guarnieri, who works as an electrician, showed NY1 multiple maintenance requests he’s filed to fix the issues in his apartment, including cockroaches, what he alleges is mold in his bathroom ceiling, and a leaky sewage pipe, which NYCHA has since patched up.

So far this year, he says he has submitted six work order tickets, and only one has gone through. He claims not enough is being done, and says he’s frustrated.

“It seems like they always want their rent money, and they never wanna take care of the problems that’s actually going on inside the apartments,” he said.

NY1 reached out to NYCHA to ask about allegations raised by residents in the Far Rockaway complex. 

In a statement, a spokesperson said, in part: “In addition to promptly responding to resident complaints, NYCHA exterminators conduct monthly proactive treatment of grounds, basements, and interiors at Beach 41st Street-Beach Channel Drive.”

The spokesperson went on to say that since a 2019 agreement that placed NYCHA under federal monitorship, the housing authority has made “meaningful progress addressing quality of life concerns and the pillar areas of the HUD Agreement despite decades of federal disinvestment and the mounting physical needs of our properties.”

Another resident NY1 spoke to, 21-year-old Bineta Diallo, said she was born and raised at the NYCHA complex. She says her family is also dealing with similar issues.

“You’ll just be looking around and you see like, a mouse like, run from point A to point B, and it’s kind of just, you know, you feel a little gross. Same with the roaches,” she said. 

“They can be really negligent with just like, coming around and doing what they need to do, and then it’s frustrating for us, because we’ve got critters, even though we’re clean, even though we clean up after ourselves,” she added.

NY1 spoke with others at the complex off camera, all of whom agreed with what Guarnieri and Diallo had to say: that things have gotten worse, and NYCHA isn’t responsive when it comes to making repairs. 

But they admitted it doesn’t come as a complete surprise, because of NYCHA’s long history of having a backlog of needed repairs.

NYCHA told NY1 the repair needs for public housing across the city amount to around $80 billion — funding that the agency does not have. 

The housing authority said it’s working to improve key areas, including lead-based paint, mold, pests and waste, but that it will take significant investment and time.

“I don’t see how they’re trying, and that’s honestly the excuse that they give us too,” Diallo said.

“They’re just not doing enough at this point,” Guarnieri added.

NYCHA said it’s working to address Guarnieri’s complaints. The agency asked NY1 for his work order numbers after NY1 reached out for a statement. 

But Guarnieri says he hasn’t heard from NYCHA, and nobody has come by to fix the issues in his apartment.