58 Hester Street, Manhattan, NY 10002

58 Hester Street, an old law tenement building in Chinatown owned by Thomas Yu, has had a series of notable maintenance and health inspections since 2021, with rodent-related issues emerging as a recurring concern. The 6-story, 38-unit building, constructed in 1900, has passed multiple rodent inspections in 2023-2025, though some inspections revealed rat activity, particularly in March 2023.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted multiple rat-related investigations, with the most recent inspections in July 2023 and July 2025 passing without major violations, though a concerning pattern of violations for failure to file external low pressure inspections from 2018-2023 emerged in mid-2023, which remains active as of September 2024. The building has experienced intermittent heat and hot water issues, with emergency complaints filed in 2021 and 2022, though inspections did not reveal violations. Notably, no bedbug infestations have been reported since 2019, with the most recent filings showing zero infested units.

The property has prompted multiple housing maintenance complaints, particularly regarding garbage/recycling storage in 2021 and 2022, which were ultimately closed without violations. While the building's rodent inspections show a generally improving trend, as evidenced by multiple "Passed" results in 2023-2025, the active violations related to low pressure inspection filings represent a current area of concern. The building's age and historical status as an old law tenement are consistent with many of the maintenance challenges documented, though the absence of recent bedbug issues and the majority of inspections passing indicate some level of responsive management.