Hey there! We are a home of five young people (and two dogs) located in a lovely neighborhood in Bushwick. We love our apartment and are just beginning to feel as though, since moving in four months ago, all the time and energy we have put into it is beginning to show. On Monday the 25th though, a huge rainstorm caused a lot of problems in our basement: Our back lot began filling up with so much water that it began pouring through the closed windows of our two basement bedrooms. We thought this was mildly managable until blackwater began spewing out of our basement toilet and shower. The water began rising so rapidly (there ended up being about 4-5 inches) that we were frantically trying to get everything up off the floor before it was damaged,  Fortunately everyone was home and we were able to save the majority of our belongings, however we did lose some things, including a twin sized mattress, our carpet, and some of our wooden furniture is damaged. The more pressing issue is that our landlord is out of town and our only contact has been with the receptionist, who has been helpful, but we are in dire need of professional cleaners to come in and thoroughly remove the hazardous material that is in the crevices and walls of our basement. And since they are not moving quickly enough to help us, we are taking matters into our own hands by purchasing dehumidifiers and fans so that mold does not start growing down there. 
We do have some money put away for house emergencies but it is not nearly enough to buy these things so that we can make our apartment livable again, and none of us have any extra money after rent and the cost of living in New York. And because of the limited contact with the landlord and receptionist, we aren't sure if they'll even cover the cost of a professional cleaner.
But we really want to stay here and any funds will go towards:
-dehumidifiers and fans to prevent the mold, not only for now, but for future use.
-A replacement carpet
-A replacement mattress and hopefully bedframe in case this happens again
We need the dehumidifiers ASAP! Our health has already been compromised and we don't want it to get worse. Any small donation really helps.
We have been so fortunate to have friends taking care of us, offering places to sleep, a warm shower, laundry, and supplies; the love and support we've received has been heartwarming and a huge help. Thanks for reading our story <3