I am not OP. This is a repost.

Mood spoiler: Sad

Originally posted on r/AskNYC 1 year ago

Link to original

My building's super hasn't taken out the garbage in several weeks and it's attracting rats. What can I do?

The garbage and recycling is located in the alleyway between my building and the next where the garbage goes.

I know my superintendent is sick. The poor guy is old and he has cellulitis. Regardless of that the garbage needs to be taken out as it's attracting rats.

Monday night I went to throw out the trash and a rat jumped on me and scratched my leg. I ended up going to urgent care the following day to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

I texted my landlord Monday night afterwards and told him what happened and his response was that he "will take care of it"

My window is on the first floor and faces the alleyway. The garbage is literally 10 feet from my kitchen window. I can't even open my window because it smells horrible. On top of that I've seen several rats. A couple of them were literally on the garbage can. These motherfuckers are big too!

I filed a complaint with 311 and texted my landlord with photos once again and the garbage still hasn't been taken out!

Is there anything else I can do? I already sent September's rent, although my landlord hasn't processed it yet. Should I put a stop payment and withhold rent until it's taken care of?

Side note, I'm out of work because of the pandemic and while I've been paying full rent, it's been late the past couple of months. I was in constant communication with my landlord about it and he was understanding. I feel bad in regards to being late on rent and complaining about the garbage, though I probably shouldn't.

Edit: A few people asked why don't I take out the trash myself? To answer this, I have helped out the super by doing so a couple of times as a favor. He's an awesome dude and has looked out for me in the past, but once that rat jumped on me, I called it quits. I'm not trying to run to CityMD and get another tetanus shot. I don't even have insurance right now so I'm not taking the risk.

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Updated post

UPDATE: My building's super hasn't taken out the trash in several weeks and it's attracting rats. What's can I do?

My original post got quite a bit of traction over the weekend so I'd figured I'd update everyone.

My landlord texted me this morning and informed me that my super had passed away last week Tuesday.

The landlord said he just found out last night as he was attempting to get in touch with the super for the past several days to no avail. The landlord knew he was sick, but the super refused to quit.

Needless to say that I'm quite devastated and I feel absolutely horrible. He was such an amazing guy. I'm really going to miss him.

I told the landlord that I'm happy to do the garbage and maintain the lobby until another super comes on board.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions on how to handle the issue.

Stay well, everyone.

Edit: I circled back to the landlord and asked him if he'd be willing to compensate me for maintaining the lobby/front of the building and taking out the trash.

He expressed his appreciation, but declined as I would have to fill out a W2, etc and another super will be assigned by the end of the week. He apologized for the condition of the building and thanked me for my patience. The new super is going to have some big shoes to fill, I'll say that much.

Thank you to everyone for your condolences.

Edit 2: My landlord already assigned another super. While the circumstances are sad, I appreciate his quick response.

Final thought, don't kill yourself for a job that will easily replace you in a week if you die.

Be well.

I am not OP. This is a repost