56 East Broadway, Manhattan, NY 10002

The 6-story, 8-unit Old Law Tenement building at 56 East Broadway in Chinatown, owned by Lin's Temple Corp, has experienced recurring heating system issues over the past two years. Between October 2023 and November 2024, the building faced four separate heat and hot water complaints, all involving the entire building and categorized as emergencies, with three of these complaints occurring in October 2024 alone.

Unfortunately, in each of these cases, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) was unable to gain access to the apartments for inspection. A similar pattern occurred with a September 2022 heat and hot water complaint, and another HPD inspection in September 2022 resulted in violations related to sanitary conditions and pests, though access could not be obtained for inspection.

On a positive note, the building has not reported any bedbug infestations in the past two years, with official reports for the periods of November 2023 to October 2024 and November 2018 to October 2019 showing zero infested units, eradicated units, and re-infested units. Despite these concerning heating system issues, the absence of bedbug problems and consistent building age (built in 1910) are notable characteristics of this Chinatown tenement. While several complaints have been filed, the repeated lack of access during HPD inspections suggests communication or accessibility challenges between residents and inspection personnel rather than indicating definitively unresolved building issues.