55 West 126th Street, Manhattan, NY 10027

55 West 126th Street is a 4-unit, 3-story residential building in Harlem, constructed in 1909 and currently owned by Richard Baptiste. The building has experienced several recurring maintenance issues over recent years, with the most significant being ongoing non-compliance with bedbug reporting requirements between 2021 and 2024, as evidenced by multiple open violations. Most recently, in early 2025, there was a heating and hot water complaint affecting the entire building, though inspectors were unable to gain access to verify the issue.

The building has active violations related to structural and safety concerns, including cracked and separated exterior concrete (as of December 2024, with a $6,250 penalty) and removal of a posted vacate order ($2,500 penalty). The property also shows a pattern of regulatory oversight lapses, as evidenced by multiple open violations for failure to file required external low-pressure inspections dating back to 2018, including the most recent violations from 2023. While there have been rodent sightings reported in 2020 and 2025, the building has generally passed subsequent inspections, demonstrating some level of responsiveness to pest management requirements.

Three illegal conversion follow-up complaints in 2024 resulted in Oath Violations being served. The building's maintenance history reveals a pattern of delayed compliance with basic housing maintenance codes and safety requirements, including a notable emergency complaint regarding building-wide heating issues in 2025. Despite these challenges, the property has maintained some level of compliance with rodent control requirements, as evidenced by multiple passing inspections between 2019 and 2025, with only two instances of rat activity being reported.