You wake up in the morning, ready to face the world — coffee in hand, sneakers tied, to-do list in mind. And then you step into your living room and… mud. Not metaphorical mud. Actual mud, courtesy of a water main break in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
The street between Emmons Avenue and Shore Parkway was transformed overnight into a frozen mud bath after a pipe burst around 2:30 a.m., flooding garages and first-floor apartments. For residents like Elan Samarin, it was a rude awakening. “I turn the lights on. Everything is covered in mud. And it was a mess,” he said.
For Amir Aslamov’s grandmother, the morning prayer was interrupted by something much less spiritual: rushing water creeping into the basement. “She saw the water coming in,” he recalled.
It’s the kind of chaos that makes you question the basics: the stability of pipes, the predictability of life, and whether your sneakers are really appropriate for city living. And while city crews will eventually clean up the mess, for those residents, Tuesday morning served as a reminder that in New York, anything can happen while you’re still dreaming of breakfast.
This story expands in a long-form feature explore Mood Magazine online.
Subscribers get full access. Start your 7-day free trial.
Listen to the extended audio feature with cultural context, music analysis, and discussion of the series’ lasting impact. Streaming now on the Mood Radio front page.
Follow the Voices in The Poets
The Poets is our upcoming show centering writers, spoken word artists, and storytellers shaping culture in real time. Discover new voices, submit your work, and follow the launch.
Mood is reader- and listener-supported. Subscribe to sustain the work. Volunteer to help build what’s next. Share stories that matter. However you join, you belong here.
