166 West 121st Street, Manhattan, NY 10027

The five-story, 10-unit old law tenement building at 166 West 121st Street in Harlem, owned by Sam Schreiber, has a significant history of maintenance issues, particularly regarding heating systems and occupancy concerns. Most recently, in March 2023, there were heat and hot water violations affecting the entire building, specifically documented in Apartment 1A, along with safety concerns about a locked boiler room door and improper cellar usage for living purposes. The building has experienced recurring heating system problems, with emergency complaints recorded for both the entire building and individual apartments in 2020 and 2021.

Notably, there were also multiple violations related to the fire escape system in December 2020, affecting all floors and requiring specific repairs to gusset plates on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th stories. The property has encountered several regulatory challenges in recent years, including multiple active violations related to failure to file required low-pressure boiler inspection reports from 2019 through 2024, resulting in significant penalties. In March 2023, there were violations regarding illegal occupancy in the cellar, which appears to have been addressed through compliance actions.

The building's infrastructure has undergone various permit processes, with multiple permits issued in 2019 and 2020, suggesting significant renovation or maintenance activities during that period. While the building has maintained a generally clean record regarding pest control, with zero bedbug reports since 2019 and passed rodent inspections in recent years, the repeated heating system failures and occupancy violations indicate ongoing management challenges. Recent inspections, including the most current rodent inspection in March 2025, have generally resulted in passing grades for pest control. The building's management has responded to most violations and service requests, with many being resolved or closed through proper remediation, though some issues, particularly regarding heating systems and boiler compliance, appear to persist as of 2024-2025.