First responders were called to a sixth-floor apartment on the 200 block of East 175th Street in the Mount Hope section at 11:21 a.m. Monday.
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A boy and a girl, who are believed to be 5-year-old twins, were found dead.
Officials say there were no signs of obvious trauma, and their deaths remain under investigation.
Mariela Bonet learned through Citizen App about the tragedy inside the apartment. She met the kids and their mother about two weeks ago.
"I went to buy gifts for the children, returning a favor to the mom, and now I find out they're dead," Bonet said.
Detectives have learned the children were recently sent home sick from school last week, and carbon monoxide is not believed to be involved in the death.
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The children were still staying home from school on Monday and their mother was home with them when they became unresponsive around 11 a.m.
Police say the father was at work and ran home after he learned of the tragedy.
"The father is currently at the 46th Precinct, cooperative," NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley said. "The mother was removed to the hospital for treatment. She's not injured, but she's emotionally distraught."
The family has no history with children's services.
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Gurley said the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
"At this point we are going to treat it as a crime scene because we don't know if its foul play or not," Gurley said. "We don't want to tamper with the scene. The medical examiner will let us know based on their investigation and our crime scene unit whether there was foul play."
Neighbors told Eyewitness News they didn't see any warning signs of trouble.
"Didn't see anything. Everything was normal," neighbor Santo Santa said. "Playing, running around with the other kids."
"They were happy kids. Happy, normal kids. Very polite, cute," neighbor Yenny Rodriguez said. "They were always hugging me every time they saw me. just good memories."
Neighbors and clergy lit candles and prayed Monday night, for the family dealing with a loss so hard to imagine this time of year.
"They're not alone. We're here to help them," said Rev. Oswalt Denis of Rehoboth Christian Church.
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