A Manhattan mother has taken the New York City Housing Authority to court, claiming two of her children were bitten by mice inside their public housing apartment and left with lingering injuries. Her lawsuit says the family has been battling a persistent rodent infestation in their Rutgers Houses unit and is now seeking monetary damages.
Complaint and allegations
The complaint, filed June 19 in New York County Supreme Court, states that two children, identified only by the initials JM and SM, were bitten inside the apartment on March 23, 2025 and were “rendered unable to carry out normal daily activities.” The apartment is in the Rutgers Houses complex, which is owned and operated by NYCHA, according to the NYCHA Capital Tracker. The filing alleges NYCHA had prior notice of a rodent infestation in the home, that the family served a notice of claim within the required 90 days, and that they are seeking damages above the jurisdictional limits of the lower courts, according to the New York Post.
Timing and legal hurdles
Claims against municipal entities and public authorities in New York come with tight deadlines. A notice of claim generally must be served within 90 days, and a lawsuit typically has to be started within one year and 90 days. Under General Municipal Law sections 50-e and 50-i, that one-year-and-90-day clock for a March 23, 2025 incident would run out on June 21, 2026. The family’s complaint landed at the courthouse on June 19, 2026, just under the wire, according to the New York State Senate.
NYCHA's maintenance backlog
Tenant advocates and city officials say that problems like vermin and sluggish repair times are routine in public housing, and that NYCHA often struggles to keep up. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has pointed to NYCHA’s massive queue of pending work orders, which stood at roughly 612,000 as of November 2025. That backlog, advocates argue, fuels recurring conditions such as rodent infestations and remains a top concern for residents and tenant organizers, according to the NYC Public Advocate.
What comes next
The case now moves into the pretrial phase in Manhattan Supreme Court. If the lawsuit survives any early motions to dismiss, it will proceed to discovery, where both sides can request records, exchange documents and take depositions. The plaintiffs will attempt to prove that NYCHA had actual or constructive notice of the rodent problem and failed to respond adequately. NYCHA, for its part, is expected to challenge liability and argue that it handled any complaints about conditions in line with its obligations.
