190 Hester Street, Manhattan, NY 10013

190 Hester Street is a 20-unit, 6-story Old Law Tenement building located in Little Italy and owned by Cui Lin. The building, constructed in 1910, has experienced recurring issues with heat and hot water systems, evidenced by multiple complaints between November 2024 and April 2025, with several instances where HPD was unable to gain access to investigate the reported problems. Notably, there is currently an open plumbing issue related to a sink or basin reported in April 2025.

The building is currently facing some safety compliance challenges, particularly in Apartment 13, where there are open violations regarding missing carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, and defective self-closing doors as of December 2024. The heating system has presented ongoing concerns, with multiple violations noted in 2024-2025 regarding inadequate heat supply and access issues to the boiler room. The property has undergone various inspections and services over the past two years, including rodent inspections that indicate the presence of rat activity as recently as June 2025, though previous inspections had passed.

While there have been several food poisoning complaints in 2024, the Health Department determined these were isolated incidents. The building has maintained compliance with bedbug reporting requirements, showing zero cases of infestation or re-infestation in the most recent filings from 2021 through 2025. Additionally, the property has experienced recurring issues with water temperature regulation, as evidenced by the hot water exceeding 130 degrees complaint in Apartment 5 in 2023. The building's management has had some difficulty addressing maintenance issues promptly, as shown by multiple instances of HPD requiring apartment access for inspections and repairs, particularly regarding heating system problems throughout 2024-2025.