Woman who fell through Bronx apartment's bathroom floor has long road to recovery, husband says
NEW YORK -- A woman who fell through the bathroom floor of her Bronx apartment over the weekend is still recovering at the hospital.
Her husband said Monday he's hopeful the city will force the landlord to properly fix their home, CBS2's Zinnia Maldonado reported.
"She fell down. It was like a big hole," said Spellman Vandepool.
Over the phone, Vandepool said his wife was conscious but has a long road to recovery.
"My wife went to the bathroom ... when she stepped in the middle, in between the door and the toilet, she fell down," said Vandepool.
Vandepool said they first heard a pipe burst during the night Sunday. Maintenance came to fix it, but his wife fell straight through the floor in the morning.
"She got lucky to not hit her head," he said.
Leaks, cracked ceilings and broken sinks. You can find it all at the apartment building on Shakespeare Avenue in the Highbridge section.
The Department of Buildings said lack of proper maintenance caused the weekend incident.
"This has been an ongoing problem for years," said Bobby Hernandez, another tenant.
The DOB issued the landlord a violation for failing to properly maintain the building. Many tenants told CBS2 the landlord doesn't make keeping up with the property a priority.
"But look at what kind of repair they do. He's supposed to repair all of this and they leave it," said tenant Manuel Baez. "That's why I buy my own supplies to fix it for myself."
"The landlord of this building, he seems like he doesn't want to be held accountable for certain things," said Hernandez.
DOB paperwork on the front door lists Bragreis Realty in Brooklyn as the building's owner. We reached out and, in a very short conversation, were simply told they're "taking care of it."
The DOB said it will follow up with the owner.
In the meantime, Vandepool said he and his wife aren't sure where they will be living until their apartment is fixed and deemed safe.
