131 Avenue A, Manhattan, NY 10009

The 6-story, 30-unit tenement at 131 Avenue A in the East Village, owned by Eric Borkowski, has experienced significant recent challenges, particularly related to heating systems and safety concerns. Most notably, there have been multiple heat and hot water complaints in 2024, with two emergency complaints within days of each other in October 2024, including one for the entire building that HPD could not inspect due to access issues. The building has active violations from November 2024 in apartment 4, including issues with plaster surfaces, bathroom fixtures, and a carbon monoxide detector, along with multiple open violations concerning construction materials and building maintenance.

A fire incident in April 2024 caused extensive damage to apartments 1 and 7, leading to questions about structural integrity and resulting in several emergency responses, including a partial vacate order due to compromised egress from apartment 13. The building has a documented history of maintenance and safety issues, including multiple violations related to fire escape access, window security, and garbage storage. There were concerning safety issues noted in 2024 regarding construction dust and ventilation problems.

The property has shown a pattern of heating system problems, with multiple emergency heat complaints throughout 2024, including a January 2024 boiler issue that resulted in an inspector being unable to gain access. Although rodent inspections have generally passed in recent years, there was documented rat activity in February 2023, and several bait applications were recorded in late 2022. The building's management has faced challenges with timely violation resolution, as evidenced by multiple open violations from recent inspections, and failure to properly maintain records for required safety inspections has led to additional DOB violations. However, it's worth noting that the building has consistently shown zero infestations in bedbug reports since 2018 and has maintained compliance in recent rodent inspections, suggesting some areas of proper maintenance despite ongoing systemic issues.