838 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10017

838 2nd Avenue, a 4-story Old Law Tenement building constructed in 1910 in Midtown and currently owned by Kenji Asazuma, has experienced several significant maintenance issues in recent years. Most notably, there were recurring heat and hot water problems reported in November 2021, though these were addressed with varying levels of inspection access.

The building has maintained a consistent record of bedbug-free status in its annual reports from 2021 through 2024, with no recorded infestations or treatments. However, there have been multiple violations regarding bedbug reporting compliance between 2018 and 2024, with the most recent violation from April 2024 being classified as "Class A." The property has seen several Department of Buildings and Environmental Control Board violations, particularly in 2019-2020, which involved failure to comply with Commissioner’s orders and maintain the building in a code-compliant manner, resulting in penalties being imposed.

Inspections have generally shown satisfactory results, though there was a failed rodent compliance inspection in May 2023, which was subsequently passed in February 2025. The building's management has demonstrated a pattern of addressing most violations, as evidenced by the resolution of the 2021 ECB violations, though some issues have required multiple inspections and follow-ups. Recent health department inspections in 2022 and 2023 have recorded isolated incidents requiring investigation, including a food poisoning complaint and unsanitary conditions involving pigeon waste, though these were not universally confirmed across multiple inspections.