'It brought me back to slavery times': Woman says stuffed animal hanging from ceiling in burnt apartment is racist threat

A stuffed animal that was found hanging from the ceiling of a woman's apartment is being assumed to be a racial statement after a black woman discovered it in her kitchen.

After a New Year's Eve fire in Brooklyn, New York, displaced 80 people, multiple residents have complained of intrusions into their apartments after their doors were left open.

One of whom was Kim Darkens, who said she discovered a stuffed animal in her kitchen after contractors left her apartment door open. Inside her home, Darkens saw a stuffed animal hanging from the ceiling light by its neck.

While it is unclear what material was being used to suspend the toy, it appeared that it could be tape or a fabric.

Darkens described the toy as "a stuffed monkey" that was "hanging at the neck, hanging in the kitchen."

The stuffed animal however does appear to more closely resemble a bear, especially given the absence of a tail, however it is difficult to discern as there was just a single image released.

"It brought me back to slavery times when they were hanging people from the tree. And I'm sitting here saying to myself, what does that mean? Somebody trying to get me?" Darkens told CBS News New York.

CBS reporter Derick Waller described the stuffed animal as "a stuffed monkey hanging from a ceiling light fixture," calling it a "racist discovery" which was hanging by what "appeared to be a noose."

"I don't know who did it and it's very frustrating and it's very scary," Darkens added.

Another tenant's apartment was also desecrated after contractors allegedly left the door open to Joseph Serrano's home.

Serrano said that the few belongings that weren't destroyed in the fire at the Boulevard Houses on Schenck Avenue were stolen. Serrano showed reporters his apartment, ravaged by fire, which contained a cabinet that had been ransacked for tattooing equipment.

"This case right here, the gray case, is where I have all my tattoo equipment and they ended up going through it like savages."

Police were reportedly still investigating the case of the hanging stuffed animal, meanwhile, tenants in the building have continued to take issue with the building's management.

The elevator is still not operating, and local politicians deferred to the New York City Housing Authority in regard to the building's poor condition. The NYCHA reportedly said that the matter is still under investigation.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!