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A Mott Haven NYCHA complex flooded after someone allegedly stole a pipe from one of the units.
Tenants at the St. Mary's NYCHA complex in Mott Haven said they woke up on Monday morning to hot water and steam pouring from their pipes.
"I just hear something go, 'psh,'" said Joellys Gaton, of Mott Haven. "Nobody's home, so, I wake up and everything is just cloudy."
"My sister called me this morning, and she was screaming and crying," said Fashawn Holly, of Mott Haven. "She was like, 'Look, it's a tsunami in here.'"
"I step right here, splash," said Gaton.
Tenants told News 12 that NYCHA workers responded with wet vacs and claimed the cause was from a vacant apartment on the fourth floor.
"[NYCHA workers] were like, 'Oh, somebody broke into the apartment upstairs and stole a pipe,'" said Holly.
A NYCHA spokesperson only told News 12 that officers responded to the complex and then referred to the NYPD. As of Monday night, the NYPD did not confirm the theft.
Tenants said the flooding impacted multiple apartments on the first three floors of the building, as well as the elevators.
"Everything is damaged, the furniture, the couches, everything, the TVs, everything," said Holly.
Tenants said NYCHA did not offer temporary housing and simply said to submit a ticket.
"A ticket is if my toilet is broken," said Holly. "If there's a major flood, that's not a ticket -- that's a disaster! That's an emergency crisis that has to be handled right now."