215 East 5th Street, Manhattan, NY 10003

The five-story, 10-unit tenement building at 215 East 5th Street in the East Village, owned by Jonathan Wertenteil and constructed in 1881, has experienced several maintenance issues over recent years. In early 2022, there were multiple residents' complaints about a slow water leak and lighting problems, both of which the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) was unable to inspect due to access issues; the building also faced a temporary heat and hot water outage that was reportedly resolved within days.

An HPD inspection in February 2022 resulted in a violation for not filing annual bedbug reports, though the building's bedbug reporting history shows consistent compliance with zero reported infestations from 2018 to the present. More recently, there was an environmental violation issued in September 2024 regarding construction materials blocking access to an apartment door and stairway access at the fifth-floor level, though this was subsequently resolved with no penalties.

Both a boiler complaint in March 2023 and a building stability complaint from December 2018 were investigated and found to warrant no violations. The building has maintained a clean record concerning vermin inspections, passing all rodent inspections from 2019 through 2025, and the most recent rodent inspection in February 2025 confirmed compliance. While the building has had its share of maintenance issues, particularly in 2022, the consistent passing of rodent inspections and absence of recent bedbug infestations suggest generally improved pest management, though residents should remain aware of the building's age-related maintenance history.