161 Lenox Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10026

161 Lenox Avenue is a 5-story, 13-unit old law tenement building located in Harlem, built in 1896 and currently owned by Craig Livingston. The building has experienced several recurring maintenance issues in recent years, with the most significant being a heat and hot water outage in April 2025 that affected the entire building. There have been multiple complaints about pest control issues, particularly concerning rodent activity, with the most recent inspections in 2025 showing continued bait application in response to rat activity.

The building has undergone various inspections and received several housing maintenance code violations, including problems with self-closing doors in refuse and recycle rooms, sanitation issues, and pest infestations. Specific apartments have reported maintenance issues, such as water damage in bathroom ceilings in Apartment 5B and window problems in Apartment 3B. The property has a documented history of rodent activity, with inspections throughout 2024 and 2025 consistently showing the need for bait application. Multiple general maintenance issues have been reported and resolved, including problems with the bell/buzzer/intercom system, plumbing fixtures, and flooring.

The building has maintained an active record of complying with inspection requirements, though some violations were noted, particularly in 2024 regarding pest infestations and various maintenance issues. The Department of Buildings conducted inspections for gas utility and plumbing work in 2019, finding no violations. While the building has had its share of maintenance challenges, it has also shown responsiveness to violations and complaints, with many issues being addressed and closed through proper channels. The bedbug reporting history for the past four years shows no infestations during the specified reporting periods, indicating effective pest management in this regard.