438 West 45th Street, Manhattan, NY 10036

438 West 45th Street is a 5-story, 14-unit Old Law Tenement building constructed in 1920, currently owned by Marvin Azrak. The building has experienced recurring heat and hot water issues, with emergency complaints filed in October 2024 and November 2023 regarding lack of heat or hot water affecting the entire building. Other maintenance concerns have persisted, including multiple door/window-related complaints and unsanitary conditions.

In June 2024, the building received Class C violations for missing or defective window guards in public areas and defective mortar joints on the west and rear exterior walls. The property, however, has maintained a consistent record of passing rodent inspections, with all inspections from December 2022 through July 2024 showing compliance. The building's bedbug reports from 2020 through 2025 show no infestation cases, and recent housing maintenance code filings indicate the absence of pest-related issues.

Previous history from late 2021 to 2022 shows attempts to investigate possible illegal conversions and hotel rooms in the building, though inspectors were either unable to gain access or found insufficient evidence. The Department of Buildings had two complaints regarding work without a permit and illegal conversions, both of which were closed without violations being substantiated. While the building has faced various maintenance issues requiring attention, the consistent rodent inspection pass rates and the absence of documented bedbug infestations in recent years may suggest some level of effective pest management. The most pressing ongoing concern appears to be the recurring heat and hot water system reliability, though recent inspections indicate no violations were found despite the complaints.