Beloved cleaning lady tears up after building residents surprise her with an apartment

A heartwarming video making the rounds of the internet shows the emotional moment the residents of a building surprised their beloved cleaner with a two-year lease on the building's penthouse apartment. The three and a half minute long video, which has been tugging at the heartstrings of netizens across social media platforms, shows the woman — identified only by her first name Rosa — being overcome by a flood of emotions as she is informed of the residents' generous gesture. According to the clip, Rosa has worked in the same building in New York for 20 years but was put out of work due to the pandemic and had been living at her sister's home since.

"Her life is about to change," reads a message shown to the camera ahead of the surprise. "This is Rosa. She lost her job due to COVID. And has been living at her sister's. She has worked in this building for 20 years!!! Everyone loves her! So... we decided to give back to the woman who gives so much to everyone. She has no idea! She's about to get the penthouse!" The video shows Rosa being given a tour of the top floor apartment — which has just been remodelled — under the pretence that she is there to clean it ahead of the arrival of new tenants.

"Rosa is family to the tenants of this NYC luxury high-rise," reads the message on the screen. Due to COVID, she was furloughed. However, she still came to work every single day with a giant smile on her face. This unit just finished a complete remodel. Rosa thinks she's here to clean it before a showing. But really, she's getting the keys. It's a four-bedroom, three-bathroom [apartment]. New hardwood floors, with two outdoor spaces, full chef's kitchen, 2500 square feet."

Rosa swoons over the massive property as she is taken through it, at one point saying: "I hope they like to cook because this is the perfect kitchen." Upon completing a tour of the apartment, the person in charge of breaking the news to Rosa says: "I know a lot of people in this building are a big fan of you and they love you very much. I know it's been a tough year for you and your family and there's probably been a lot of financial hardships. I think you made a real impact on the people here in the building and they just want to give something back to you."

She is then finally informed that the residents of the building clubbed together to rent her the penthouse for two years and that "everything has been taken care of" so she and her family can move out of her sister's home and get back on their feet. Rosa is left stunned by the news and bursts into tears saying "this isn't real" as she is given the keys to her new apartment. "This is too much. I can't believe this," she added as she began to comprehend the surprise.

While the video touched many hearts on social media, there were some who questioned the long-term practicality of the extravagant gesture. "Halfway through, while crying it hit me like a ton of bricks... we have SO much wealth in this country... every human deserves a comfortable life. This video went from touching to gross real fast. Don't get me wrong, what they did was very nice... but we've created a society that makes the common person fight over scraps just to pay rent, buy food, and make ends meet... while the top .01% has more money than they could spend in 1,000 lifetimes," wrote one Reddit user. "None of those tenants will leave her stranded... they all seemed so amazing, and this is the kind of move that can turn a whole life around. And even after being laid off still coming in? She is an absolute unit and deserves good things from people with great hearts. This is one of my favorite new stories," commented u/WildManOfUruk.