36 Gramercy Park East, Manhattan, NY 10003

36 Gramercy Park East, a 13-story New Law Tenement built in 1910, has recently experienced concerning and repeated issues with heat and hot water, with eight complaints logged between March and April 2025. These complaints, affecting the entire building, typically resulted in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development being unable to gain access for inspection. The building has also faced ongoing issues with vestibule door maintenance, receiving multiple Housing Maintenance Code Violations throughout 2024 for self-closing door concerns, particularly related to defective hinges.

While there have been some positive developments, such as the building passing recent rodent inspections in 2025 and having no bedbug infestations reported in the past eight years, active violations remain a concern. In 2024, the building received two significant Department of Buildings violations: one related to the failure to file an acceptable amended Cycle 9A report regarding unsafe conditions, and another concerning an incident where a worker fell 12-15 feet, resulting in a $5,000 penalty. The building's maintenance history shows some efforts to address various issues, with multiple permits issued for work between 2018 and 2021.

However, there is a notable pattern of emergency heat and hot water complaints throughout 2024 and 2025, suggesting persistent maintenance challenges. The property owner, Charles Vella, oversees a building with 46 units that has maintained regular bedbug and rodent inspection compliance, though the frequency and pattern of recent heat and hot water complaints indicate a significant systems-related concern that has yet to be consistently resolved. The building's location in Gramercy has historically been characterized by stable occupancy, with the current situation representing a departure from typical maintenance patterns observed in previous years.