165 Avenue A, Manhattan, NY 10009

The five-story, nine-unit tenement building at 165 Avenue A, owned by Ruben Sepulveda, has experienced numerous maintenance issues over the past several years, with the most recent being a heat and hot water outage in May 2025 that required HPD intervention. The building has a concerning pattern of plumbing and sanitation problems, including multiple plumbing complaints in late 2023 (involving sinks, toilets, bathtubs/showers, and water leaks), as well as pest infestations, with documented bedbug cases in apartments 3 and 5 in late 2023. Housing code violations from 2020-2021 indicate serious concerns with building maintenance, including failure to provide hot water, access to heating systems, and issues with fire egress from apartment 1, as well as problems with garbage bins in public areas. The building's infrastructure has faced several challenges, with complaints about doors/windows, electrical systems, and various plumbing fixtures recorded between 2020 and 2025, some of which remain open as of October 2023.

The property has multiple active DOB violations related to a rear yard fence exceeding legal height limits (as of June 2024), and historical issues with work being performed without proper permits. There is a pattern of bedbug infestations requiring treatment, with the most recent report showing two units affected in the 2023-2024 filing period. While recent rodent inspections in early 2025 resulted in passing grades, previous inspections in 2024 showed varying results, including some failures. The building has undergone multiple construction enforcement actions since 2018, with several stop-work orders issued, particularly during renovation periods in 2018-2019. The property's owner has faced issues with complying with various vacate orders and has accumulated significant penalties related to failure to obtain necessary work permits and resolve building code violations.

The current bedbug and pest control efforts appear to have achieved some level of success, with recent reports showing eradication of previously infested units, though the total affected units have varied. Multiple violations related to sanitary conditions and pest control have been documented, requiring HPD intervention. The building's maintenance history suggests ongoing challenges with basic systems such as heat, hot water, and plumbing, as well as periodic issues with building security and access systems. The most recent complaints indicate continuing concerns with basic building systems, though there have been some improvements in resolution times for certain types of complaints. The property has generally passed recent rodent inspections, indicating improvements in pest management, though past inspections showed more variable results.