509 West 38th Street, Manhattan, NY 10018

The 31-story, 225-unit residential building at 509 West 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, owned by Tom Ellis, has experienced notable maintenance and systems issues since its 2015 construction. Most recently, in March 2025, there is an open complaint regarding the ventilation system, while earlier in 2025, there were multiple heat and hot water-related complaints, including building-wide and apartment-specific issues. January 2025 saw several plumbing complaints concerning water supply and radiator problems, with varying inspection outcomes.

The building has also undergone rodent inspections in 2024 that resulted in failures for "Other Reasons," following consistently passed inspections from 2017-2019. While a bedbug infestation was reported in 2021 in unit 2E, subsequent annual reports (2022-2024) show no further infestations. The building's violation history reveals several significant issues between 2021-2022, including problems with gas supply in unit 8E, water leakage in unit 21C, and various maintenance violations noted during inspections.

Two ECB violations were issued to Benchmark Builders LLC in August 2022 regarding inadequate tenant protection plans and failure to provide approved construction documents during work. Historical complaints also include elevator device issues and illegal gas hook-up concerns in 2021-2022, though these were ultimately closed with no violations warranted. The property has maintained relatively consistent pest control, with no reported infestations in the most recent three reporting periods, and has generally engaged promptly with housing maintenance complaints, though some recent systems issues remain unresolved as of 2025.