52 East 97th Street, Manhattan, NY 10029

The 6-story, 92-unit tenement building at 52 East 97th Street, owned by Christian Gonzalez and built in 1924, has experienced a range of maintenance and regulatory issues over recent years. Most notably, the building has faced recurring problems with mold and unsanitary conditions, with multiple complaints documented in 2024 alone, though no violations were ultimately issued following HPD inspections.

Heating system reliability has been a concern, with two separate emergency complaints regarding lack of heat/hot water in January 2022, while window safety was questioned in April 2022 with a broken/missing window guard complaint. The building currently has several open Housing Maintenance Code violations related to lead-based paint hazard control requirements affecting multiple apartments (4O, 6P, 3P, 5P, 4C, 4A) as of July 2022, and violations from July 2022 regarding ceiling repairs and roof leaks in public areas. More recent concerns include a significant boiler-related issue documented in November 2024, with the Environmental Control Board noting exposed wiring, missing bolts, and combustible materials in the boiler room, for which a $310 penalty was imposed and remains active.

The building's bedbug remediation history shows some prior infestations in 2019-2020, but reports for the past three years (2022-2025) indicate no current infestations. While the building has generally passed recent rodent inspections, there have been some failures noted, including a December 2024 inspection. Despite these various issues, it's worth noting that many recent service requests resulted in no violations being filed following inspections, though this does not necessarily indicate resolution of underlying problems.