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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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A Brooklyn mother has shocked social media after discovering that the source of her long-running rat infestation was a direct hole into a New York City subway station beneath her apartment.
Ciara, 36, who has lived in her Brooklyn home since 2018, said she had been battling rats and mice for years—only to find out her family’s home was physically connected to a nearby train station.
“I found out about the train station once maintenance workers came to fix the hole in my kids’ bedroom closet,” Ciara, who didn’t give a surname, told Newsweek. “I’ve lived here since 2018. I noticed a rat problem in 2018. I shared it because I was so shocked that the train station was connected to the kids’ room.”
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Ciara posted a video of the shocking discovery on Instagram, which has since been viewed more than 1.7 million times.
In the clip, she shows the gaping hole behind her children’s closet as staff came to fix the gap, leading directly into the train station structure below.
Newsweek reached out to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York via email for comment.
Rats in New York City
Rats are a notorious part of New York City life, but the problem has become worse in recent years. According to pest control company MMPC, the city is home to an estimated 3 million rats—a 42 percent increase over the past decade.
Brooklyn has seen one of the biggest surges, with rat numbers up 56 percent, trailing only Manhattan’s 66 percent rise. The city’s rodent woes have become so severe that in 2023, Mayor Eric Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city’s first-ever “rat czar,” declaring rodents “public enemy number one.” Corradi was given a $3.5 million budget to help curb infestations across the five boroughs.
Rats are known carriers of disease, and for some residents, the anxiety runs deeper—musophobia, an irrational fear of rats and mice, is a recognized psychological condition.
A 2019 study on living with rats in low-income neighborhoods found widespread concern about safety and sanitation. Participants described feelings of disgust, fear, and frustration, often tied to systemic issues like housing maintenance and infrastructure decay.
While Ciara’s video stunned millions, it resonated deeply with many New Yorkers who say they, too, are fighting a losing battle against rats.
"I’ve been working extra hours so I can get my family into a better living situation," Ciara said. "It cost me a lot of money because I buy plaster to keep patching up different holes, but the mice and rats bite straight through them."
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