521 East 12th Street, Manhattan, NY 10009

521 East 12th Street is a five-story, 18-unit old law tenement building located in the East Village, owned by Steven Oved and constructed in 1900. The building has experienced recurring maintenance issues over the past several years, with the most recent being electrical problems in September 2023 that resulted in violations for defective electrical outlets, missing light fixtures, and unsafe wiring conditions in Apartment 2. Earlier in 2023, there were violations related to mold, ventilation system issues, and various other maintenance concerns.

The building has a documented history of heat and hot water outages in 2019 affecting the entire building, as well as electrical problems including a power outage that year. The property has faced several concerning safety issues in recent years, including multiple violations regarding fire safety and egress. In May 2023, violations were issued for obstructed fire escapes, including flower pots on balconies and missing or defective self-closing doors in Apartment 13.

The building underwent several inspections related to illegal conversions and unauthorized hotel rooms between 2019 and 2022, with one environmental control board violation in 2022 concerning improperly supported window air conditioning units. However, it's worth noting that the building has maintained a consistent record of passing rodent inspections, as shown by regular successful inspections between 2019 and 2025, and has had no reported bedbug infestations in the past five years. The property shows some recent improvements to compliance, with several violations being certified as corrected, including a substantial fine of $6,250 related to building maintenance issues from 2022.