231 East 96th Street, Manhattan, NY 10128

The five-story, 22-unit tenement building at 231 East 96th Street, owned by Garth Johnson and built in 1920, has experienced ongoing pest control challenges over the past three years, with significant clusters of complaints throughout 2022 primarily regarding pest infestations. The most concerning pest issues occurred between March and October 2022, with multiple unsanitary condition complaints related to pests, including rodent sightings, that resulted in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) being unable to gain access for inspections on several occasions, though some complaints were investigated with no violations issued.

A notable health concern emerged in May 2022 with an unsanitary pigeon condition involving pigeon waste. Recent structural and maintenance issues have come to light, with active violations filed against the building in 2023 for failure to maintain building walls and appurtenances, including issues with cracks, spalling bricks, and mortar problems, particularly noted as affecting windows from the 5th to 1st floors.

The building has also faced challenges related to illegal conversions and hotel room violations, with inspections occurring in 2022 and 2023, though these complaints were either dismissed or resulted in inability to gain access during inspections. Despite these issues, the building has maintained compliance with bedbug reporting requirements since 2020, showing no confirmed infestations, and recent rodent inspections in 2025 have shown passing results, suggesting some improvement in pest management. The most current building status shows active attention to structural issues with an associated violation penalty of $2,500 for the wall maintenance violation, though the balance due is listed as $0.