21 West 120th Street, Manhattan, NY 10027

21 West 120th Street is a 3-story, 4-unit residential building in Harlem, constructed in 1888 and currently owned by Alexander Fishbeyn. The property has a concerning pattern of heating and hot water issues, particularly between November 2023 and December 2024, with multiple emergency complaints filed through 311 and the Housing Maintenance Code regarding lack of heat and hot water in both individual apartments and throughout the building. These problems appear to be persistent, with several instances where HPD was unable to gain access to apartments for inspection.

Recent violations from November 2023 inspection indicate issues in Apartment 6, including defective self-closing doors, inadequate heat supply, and problems with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The building also faces ongoing concerns with cooking gas supply, with multiple complaints and a November 2023 violation related to inadequate gas supply for kitchen fixtures in Apartment 6. The property's maintenance history shows some improvements, with violations from October 2023 regarding hot water issues in Apartments 3 and 8 being marked as closed.

However, new violations have emerged regarding proper notifications to tenants about essential service interruptions and access to the building's heating system. The building has undergone several rodent inspections, with recent activity noted in 2024 and 2025, though earlier inspections in 2022-2023 showed passed compliance. Notably, the building has maintained a bedbug-free status according to official reports from 2021 through 2025, with no infested units reported in any of the five recent infestation periods.