404 East 14th Street, Manhattan, NY 10009

404 East 14th Street is a 6-story, 9-unit Old Law Tenement building constructed in 1920, currently owned by Peter Hale. The building has experienced recurring issues with its food establishment facilities, with multiple Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) complaints between 2023-2025 related to hygiene, rodent infestations, and improper food handling practices. Most recently, in June 2025, a food worker hygiene complaint was opened and remains unresolved.

The building has also faced some electrical infrastructure challenges, including a power outage in March 2025 that prompted an HPD inspection attempt, and a history of illegal hotel room usage violations between 2020-2022, suggesting possible unauthorized short-term rental activity. The property has maintained consistent compliance with rodent inspections, passing all inspections since May 2021. A notable incident occurred in 2018 involving inadequate sprinkler system maintenance, though this violation was ultimately dismissed.

The building's owners have demonstrated responsiveness to various maintenance issues, as evidenced by multiple permit issuances for electrical and plumbing work in 2018 and 2019. While the building has maintained regular bedbug reporting from 2019-2024 with no documented infestations, the frequency and nature of food establishment violations, along with the power outage incident, indicate ongoing challenges with certain building systems and operations. Recent inspections have generally shown compliance with basic safety measures, as evidenced by passed rodent inspections, though the current food hygiene complaint suggests continuing operational concerns.