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Coming home to find an unexpected hole in your apartment wall would be alarming enough. One New York City woman says she came home to find four of them. Apparently, they were drilled from an entirely different building.
In a September 2026 TikTok video with over 83,000 views, creator @laurennsalazer explains that she had just returned to her apartment when she noticed four nails protruding through the wall of her kitchen.
“I just got home to my New York City apartment, and there are four holes drilled into my apartment wall from the neighboring apartment,” she says, pointing to the evidence behind her.
But oddly enough, the apartment on the other side of the wall isn’t just the unit next door, she explains. “Best part is, this apartment next to me isn’t in my building. It’s the building that backs my apartment,” she says.
What Happened To Her Apartment Wall in New York?
The discovery immediately raised questions for the renter about what separates the two properties. She says she contacted her building superintendent. She brought up her concern that the nails appeared to have traveled completely through the wall separating the buildings.
“I asked the super; I was like, ‘Clearly there’s no firewall either. Like, the building isn’t fire protected,’” she says.
The super insisted that wasn’t the case. They described it as one of the “deepest walls in Manhattan,” according to the renter—not exactly a reassuring explanation.
“Four nails are going through the firewall? Like, that’s concerning,” she says to viewers. She added that her mother had a similar reaction upon hearing the news. “My mom’s like, ‘At this point, anything’s going through that wall. Like, you could probably kick it down.’”
While nails making it through a building wall don’t necessarily prove that it lacks proper fire protection, the renter says the incident left her deeply distressed about the construction between her apartment and the neighboring property. She called it “extremely concerning.”
What’s worse, the super “didn’t really offer any help whatsoever.”
The renter ends her video theorizing that whoever was responsible for the holes in her wall used a nail gun. She once again pointing the camera to the four holes in her kitchen wall.
Viewers Urge Her To Call 311 And The Fire Marshal
Many viewers urged @laurennsalazer to call 311 and the fire department. some joked she should enact her own vigilante justice.
“The angel on my shoulder says call the fire Marshall. The devil on my shoulder says take a hammer and hammer those nails back out,” wrote one commenter.
“Daughter of a firefighter here…call the Marshall!!” wrote another.
“Immediately contact the department of buildings. Short term if they are using a nail gun you could be at risk, long term the fire issue,” chimed in a third.
Another joked: “Is this one of those paper mache buildings that they’ve been putting up around the city?”
How To Report An Apartment Safety Issue In NYC
Luckily, the content creator does have options beyond contacting her super. New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development recommends first notifying the landlord or property owner about a housing safety problem and filing a 311 complaint if it isn’t addressed. If the issue still isn’t corrected, the city may send out an inspector to check for violations.
The incident spotlights one of the many complications that come with living in a densely packed city: Sometimes your neighbor can be in an entirely separate building, and still somehow end up in your kitchen.
We reached out to @laurennsalazer via email.
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