A pipe burst in Othmer Hall early Wednesday morning, marking the Brooklyn residence hall’s third flooding incident this academic year.

The Brooklyn Halls Building Leadership Team notified residents about the 13th-floor leak at around 9 a.m., stating that inspections for water damage across several floors would begin immediately. In the email, building staff said that heating in the residence hall would be unavailable until the water line was repaired, and told residents to not use the laundry room until 11 a.m. Thursday to allow affected items to be cleaned. 

Othmer houses 400 residents at NYU’s Brooklyn campus, including Tandon first-year Andy Pham, who discovered water falling into his dorm around 7:30 a.m. from the window and in his suite’s common area. He added that the leaking had stopped when he returned four hours later, but has yet to receive information about compensation for water damage. 

“I heard dripping, so I was like ‘Oh crap it’s raining’ because the window was open, but when I was walking toward the door I was getting splashed in the head,” Pham wrote to WSN.

At around 3 p.m., residents were notified that inspections had concluded but received no other facilities updates. Three hours later, Othmer staff updated students in a third email, announcing repairs had been implemented and that the heating system was operational. BLT added that residual water could result in additional damage and suggested students submit work orders if they notice “bubbling” on the ceilings, stretched paint or dampness. 

Several floors at Othmer flooded on Nov. 6 after two different pipes burst, leaving pools of water in the building’s lobby and damaging nearly two dozen suites. A similar incident also led to flooding in a University Hall suite in October. Following these incidents, affected students were offered compensation for damaged personal belongings and temporary housing.

“The first flood left a lot of people stranded,” Tandon first-year Mihaela Gugulovski told WSN. “The second time, they were slightly better, but the fact that a pipe burst is still insane. Why is it a semesterly thing?” 

Othmer will be closed over the summer for “planned capital improvements” with the university noting that students who wish to remain on campus will have to relocate to a Manhattan residence hall. 

Contact Natalie Deoragh and Neil Tawney at [email protected].