Crown Heights Mom Fights For Asthmatic Son As Moldy Ceilings Collapse

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Mold in Ikorine Fairclough's bathroom has gotten so bad that rats, squirrels and even a raccoon have climbed through the crumbling walls and ceiling into her Crown Street apartment, she says.

But still, the reason she keeps the door stapled shut is even more dire.

"My son can't breathe," said Fairclough, whose 8-year-old Kitia McLeod suffers from chronic asthma. "I have not used that bathroom in almost three years."

The spreading mold is among a long list of problems that Fairclough has spent years fighting for her landlord to fix in the 712 Crown St. building — where her family lived for four decades — including a rally held last week with the Crown Heights Tenant Union.

Landlord Isaac Hager, of 5712 Realty LLC, did not answer a call from Patch for comment.

The six-story building has 192 open violations from the city for mold, lead-based paint, roaches and other problems, records show.

In Fairclough's apartment, mold caused by chronic leaks has collapsed one of her bathroom's ceilings and most recently started spreading into her son's bedroom, she said.

Even with the bathroom door stapled shut, Kitia spends hours each day hooked up to a breathing machine and has visited the hospital more than a dozen times in the last few years, four of which he had to be admitted, Fairclough said.

At least two of the visits came after Kitia tried to calm a persistent cough with his inhaler for upwards of 14 hours, according to records shared with Patch.

For nearly two years, Fairclough even shelled out $4,700 each month to stay in an Airbnb away from the mold, she said.

"I was desperate," she said.

Her fears have been exacerbated by hearing about fatal cases of asthma, which kills hundreds of New Yorkers each year.

Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights have the second-highest rate of asthma-related emergency visits in Brooklyn and among the highest in New York City, according to a 2021 report.

Last week's rally comes as Fairclough considers taking her landlords to court for a second time. In 2020, a judge ordered the building owners to fix the mold, but instead contractors only offered to put sheetrock on top of the moldy walls, according to Fairclough.

"Mold [would] still be under there — we’re still breathing it in," she said. "I’m not asking for much. All I’m asking to live in livable conditions."