56 Charles Street, Manhattan, NY 10014

The four-story, two-family house at 56 Charles Street in the West Village, owned by Vadim Sarma and constructed in 1840, has undergone several significant regulatory challenges over the past seven years. Most notably, the property faced multiple violations between 2019 and 2021 related to illegal short-term rental activities, with three separate complaints in July and August 2019 concerning unauthorized hotel rooms, followed by a June 2021 complaint about illegal conversions. These violations prompted several Environmental Control Board (ECB) actions in 2021, including multiple penalties (initially $3,125 each) for failure to comply with commissioner's orders related to the earlier 2019 violations, though some discrepancies in penalty balance were noted, with one listed as $108.

In April 2022, several readily dismissed violations were noted, including multiple instances of failure to certify correction on Class 1 violations from 2019, suggesting administrative challenges in addressing these violations. The building's recent maintenance record shows a concerning pattern of rodent activity in early 2022, followed by consistent "Passed" inspections from May 2022 through August 2024. While this indicates improved pest management, the property's history of illegal rental activity and subsequent regulatory enforcement suggests previous occupancy management challenges.

The building's current condition appears stable based on recent rodent inspections, with no new DOB complaints or ECB violations recorded since 2021. Ten years of rodent inspection records show a generally good maintenance pattern, with the only notable exception being the January 2022 rat activity finding. The combination of historical violations and subsequent compliance actions suggests that while the property is currently maintaining required standards, it has experienced significant regulatory scrutiny in recent years related to occupancy management and building code compliance.