Ruptured tank sends dirty water cascading through Brooklyn apartment building

BROWNSVILLE (WABC) -- In addition to the deluge of rainwater from Mother Nature over the past few days, residents of a housing project in Brooklyn had some additional flooding on their hands.

A gravity tank on top of their building, the Van Dyke Houses located at 393 Dumont Avenue in Brownsville, ruptured around 8 a.m. Wednesday, leaving tenants with a huge mess to clean up.

They woke up to dirty water flowing out of their toilets, oozing from their kitchen sinks and rushing down the hallways.

The elevators at the 14-story tower are not working, which presents a greater challenge to those living on the upper floors.

Residents spend their morning and afternoon mopping up the sloppy mess from their apartments and corridors. Some had to cut out sections of soiled carpet, pull up tiles and throw possessions that had been ruined.

"It was all flooded," resident Marie Dickens said. "My bedroom is ruined, my other room is ruined, the living room, everything is destroyed. And they said the tower on top of the roof had burst, and everybody on the first floor is soaked out...It was overflowing. And then the water upstairs burst in the staircase. All the staircases is ruined."

The FDNY confirmed the leak in the gravity tank. Calls to NYCHA have not been answered or returned.