85 Mulberry Street, Manhattan, NY 10013

The five-story, nine-unit tenement building at 85 Mulberry Street in Chinatown, owned by Alex Chao and constructed in 1920, has experienced several notable issues in recent years. Most concerning are the two open electrical complaints from late 2024 and early 2025 regarding inadequate lighting, which remain unresolved as of January 2025. The building has also experienced some serious maintenance concerns, including a May 2023 investigation into cooking gas issues in Apartment 7 which resulted in violations, and unsanitary conditions including pests during the same month, though no violations were issued in that instance.

Multiple Housing Maintenance Code violations were identified in May 2023, with several related to safety notices and documentation requirements in common areas, though many of these were subsequently closed. The building experienced rat activity in early 2022, but passed multiple rodent inspections in subsequent years, with the most recent inspection in June 2025 showing no violations. Importantly, the building's bedbug reports from 2020 to present show zero infestations in all reporting periods, suggesting effective management of this particular pest issue.

Recent inspections and complaints indicate ongoing concerns with building systems and maintenance, particularly regarding electrical issues. The property has a history of both internal unit-specific problems (such as the cooking gas issue in Apartment 7) and building-wide maintenance challenges. While the building has generally passed recent rodent inspections and maintained a clean bedbug record, the persistence of the current electrical complaints and the previous cooking gas issue suggest ongoing infrastructure concerns. The most recent work-related complaint from November 2023 regarding unauthorized work in a multiple dwelling was referred to the Department of Consumer Affairs, though the outcome of this complaint is not detailed in the available records.