139 West 28th Street, Manhattan, NY 10001

The 5-story, 15-unit tenement building at 139 West 28th Street in Chelsea, owned by Elizabeth Novotny, has experienced several significant maintenance and health-related issues in recent years. Most notably, as of June 2025, there are two active Department of Health and Mental Hygiene complaints regarding rodent and insect issues related to a food establishment that remain unresolved.

The building has had recurring maintenance challenges, including a series of problems documented between 2021-2024 involving heat and hot water systems (both in individual apartments and building-wide), unsafe conditions, and various door-related issues. In November 2021, multiple violations were issued regarding inadequate gas supply to ranges in apartments 1R, 2R, 2W, 3R, 4E, and the 2022 orders regarding garbage bins in the 1st-story public hall. The property has undergone regular safety and compliance inspections under Local Law 188, with the most recent inspections in 2024 showing some violations that were marked as open, including issues with self-closing doors and a requirement to remove encumbering garbage bins in the public hall.

While the building’s management has generally addressed violations when cited, there are active Environmental Control Board violations from 2022 regarding holes in ceilings and walls, chimney issues, and boiler room signage that remain active with a penalty of $625. Despite these challenges, it's worth noting that the past three years of bedbug reporting (2022-2024) show no infestations or re-infestations recorded, and the building passed rodent inspections in 2020 and 2011, though it failed one in 2019. The property's maintenance history shows a pattern of recurring issues with building systems and safety compliance, with varying degrees of responsiveness to violations.