23 West 31st Street, Manhattan, NY 10001

23 West 31st Street is a 5-story, 4-unit residential building constructed in 1925 and currently owned by Dorothy Hong. The property has experienced multiple concerning issues in recent years, particularly in 2024, with recurring problems related to heat/hot water (including a July 2024 emergency complaint affecting the entire building), door/window access issues, and plumbing/water supply problems. A cluster of nine HPD service requests between February and April 2024, many requiring apartment access for verification, suggests persistent maintenance access challenges.

The building has active violations from 2021 related to apartment 5, including issues with doors, wall conditions, and safety devices, though there is no record of bedbug infestations since 2021-2022, according to the required Bedbug Reporting. The property has a history of regulatory compliance challenges, with multiple Department of Buildings (DOB) violations and complaints. Most notably, there are active DOB violations from 2020 regarding stop work orders, and a 2023 violation related to failure to file annual bedbug reports.

Earlier construction-related issues resulted in several ECB violations in 2018-2020, including unlawful work continuation and failure to maintain adequate housekeeping during construction. The building has passed rodent inspections in 2010, 2011, 2012, and most recently in 2023, indicating generally good pest management, though a 2022 DOHMH complaint regarding rodents/insects/garbage was addressed. While some maintenance issues have been resolved (e.g., a 2020 heat/hot water complaint was corrected), the frequency and nature of recent complaints, particularly regarding basic services like heat and water, suggest ongoing infrastructure challenges that affect resident comfort and safety.