Patrice Moore, 43, was apparently buried standing up when his collection of magazines, books and newspapers collapsed on top of him.
He was rescued after neighbours heard his cries for help through the door and alerted emergency workers, who dug through the paper piles to reach him.
He had reportedly spent more than a decade amassing his vast collection.
Neighbour's warning
City officials said Mr Moore's entire room - measuring only 10ft by 10ft (3m by 3m) was stuffed with magazines, newspapers, junk mail, catalogues and books, with only a small space for him to sleep in.
Alongside Mr Moore's concerned neighbours, three firefighter companies, the police, health workers and officials from the city's emergency management authority were involved in the rescue operation.
After three hours and more than 50 bags of rubbish, Mr Moore was pulled to safety and taken to hospital with leg injuries.
Doctors treating him said he was in a stable condition.
"I was hollering for two days, 'Let me out! Let me out!' and nobody wanted to answer," Mr Moore, a former mailroom clerk, told the New York Post newspaper.
Mr Moore said he collected the books and papers to sell on the city's streets.
A neighbour said she had warned Mr Moore that his collection could end up harming him.
"I told him: 'You've got to be able to get in and out'," Deon Baitmon told the New York Times newspaper.
"But he didn't really want to hear about that."
Similar case
It is the second time that such a case has emerged in the city.
In 1947 the bodies of two men were found amidst piles of junk in a rundown mansion in the city's East Harlem area.
Brothers Langley and Homer Collyer had spent years collecting items such as grand pianos, books, chandeliers, mirrors, bottles and even car parts.
They even built booby traps within their home to prevent thieves from stealing their possessions.
However, it later transpired that one such booby trap killed Langley, while his blind and disabled brother died of starvation several days later.
They were not found for several weeks.
