A mouse is never welcome in this house.
A Manhattan mother is suing the New York City Housing Authority after her two young children were bitten by mice inside their Lower East Side apartment, according to an eleventh-hour lawsuit filed this week in Manhattan Supreme Court — just before the statute of limitations ran out.
Doris Montalvo claims in the suit that NYCHA had been put on notice about a rodent infestation at 38 Rutgers St. but refused to act, leaving her family trapped in what the complaint describes as a “dangerous, unsafe, uninhabitable condition,” The Post has learned.
Both children, identified in court papers only by their initials JM and SM, suffered injuries when mice attacked them inside the apartment on March 23, 2025.
The filing accuses the housing authority of gross negligence for permitting rodents and vermin to remain on the premises “for an unreasonable length of time” after being notified of the problem.
NYCHA, which owns, operates and manages the Rutgers Street property, had a duty to keep the unit “in a safe, proper and habitable condition, free of rodents,” the complaint states, particularly the bedroom area where the children were sleeping.
The suit alleges NYCHA and its agents “negligently and carelessly maintained their premises and failed to correct the rodent and vermin infestation,” even after having actual and constructive notice of the hazardous conditions.
The housing authority is further accused of failing to warn tenants about the dangers lurking inside the building and of inviting residents to live there without first making the premises safe.
As a result of the bites, the suit alleges the children suffered “permanent” injuries and were rendered unable to carry out their normal daily activities.
“The plaintiffs were rendered sick, sore, lame, suffered great pain, shock, and anguish, both internally and externally, and has, upon information and belief, been permanently injured,” the complaint states.
Montalvo is also suing in her own right, arguing she was “deprived of the services, society and companionship” of her children as a direct result of NYCHA’s negligence. The family also incurred hospital and medical expenses tied to the attacks, according to the suit.
Montalvo first put NYCHA on formal notice by filing a notice of claim against the agency within 90 days of the March 2025 incident, as required by law for suits against municipal bodies.
After more than 30 days passed with no resolution or payment from the authority, the family moved forward with the lawsuit.
Claims against NYCHA carry a statute of limitations of one year and 90 days, a deadline that fell around June 21 of this year. The complaint was filed June 19, just two days before that window closed.
The suit seeks damages exceeding the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts.
When asked for comment, NYCHA told The Post it does “not comment on pending litigation.”
Lawyers for Montalvo did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
