542 East 5th Street, Manhattan, NY 10009

542 East 5th Street is a 6-story, 81-unit residential building located in Manhattan's East Village, built in 1970 and currently owned by Joseph Taube. The building has experienced recurring heating and hot water issues, with multiple emergency complaints filed between 2024-2025 affecting both entire building and individual apartments. Recent inspections in 2025 revealed rodent activity, though previous inspections in prior months showed improvements with bait application and compliance passes.

The building has several active violations related to documentation requirements, including failure to file benchmarking reports and annual bedbug reports between 2022-2024, all with "Active" status as of 2025. While the bedbug infestation rates appear to be controlled based on the 2023 filings showing zero infested units, there have been notable concerns regarding building-wide systems. The property has undergone various inspections and investigations by different city agencies, including the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

Of particular note, there have been four day care-related complaints investigated by DOHMH between 2024-2025, though the specific nature of these complaints isn't detailed in the records. The building has also faced challenges with its maintenance code compliance, particularly in 2019 when multiple violations were issued regarding documentation and signage requirements in common areas, including bedbug reporting, smoke detector notice requirements, and various safety-related postings, though many of these were later closed. The electrical wiring system has raised concerns as evidenced by multiple complaints in 2024-2025, though inspections found no violations.