519 East 87th Street, Manhattan, NY 10128

The 5-story, 20-unit Old Law Tenement building at 519 East 87th Street, owned by Dominique Punnett and constructed in 1910, has experienced several maintenance and safety concerns over recent years. Most notably, in December 2024, an ECB violation was issued for obstructed exit passageways on the 4th floor, with boxes blocking nearly the entire egress corridor, resulting in a $1,250 penalty.

The building has a history of self-closing door violations, documented in a September 2022 inspection, affecting both the front entrance and basement fire doors. Other serious issues have included multiple emergency complaints in September 2021 regarding heavy water leaks and unsanitary sewage conditions, though no violations were found upon inspection. Recent building history shows a mix of maintenance challenges and inspection passings, including a rat sighting in February 2023 (inspected and passed), and multiple housing maintenance code complaints between 2020-2021, including a heat/hot water issue in February 2020.

There have been several Department of Buildings complaints from 2019-2024 regarding potential illegal conversions, unauthorized hotel rooms, and work without permits, though inspectors were often unable to gain access for verification. The building has maintained a clean record for bedbugs since 2019, with no reported infestations in any dwelling units. Regular rodent inspections (2015-2023) show generally compliance, with the most recent inspections passing, although there was one failure noted in September 2017.