78 Christopher Street, Manhattan, NY 10014

78 Christopher Street is a 15-unit, 5-story old law tenement building located in the West Village, constructed in 1889 and currently owned by Rafael Sassouni. The property has a notable history of maintenance and safety compliance issues over the past several years. Most recently, in 2023 and continuing into 2024, there have been multiple violations regarding the failure to file required external low-pressure inspection reports for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

The building has also shown persistent problems with rodent activity, with seven documented inspections between 2021 and 2024 indicating rat activity, though most recently in August 2024, the building passed an inspection. The building's safety systems and maintenance requirements have generated numerous violations, particularly in 2018, when multiple issues were identified in Apartment 2, including problems with carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, bathroom floor tiles, and door self-closing mechanisms. At that time, there were also violations regarding proper notice postings for housing information and carbon monoxide detection requirements in the common areas.

While the building has maintained an annual bedbug reporting record from 2020 to present showing minimal infestation issues (with only one reported case in 2020), the presence of multiple open violations from 2018 suggests ongoing maintenance challenges. The property has undergone regular tenant safety inspections throughout 2023, with most resulting in no violations, though there was one instance requiring an oath violation in May 2023. The building also faced an inspection related to its Certificate of Occupancy status in 2018, though access was denied for this inspection.