171 West 133rd Street, Manhattan, NY 10030

171 West 133rd Street is a 5-story, 10-unit Old Law Tenement building in Harlem, built in 1926 and currently owned by Thomas Yu. The building has experienced several maintenance issues in recent years, with the most recent pattern of complaints emerging in April 2025, including problems with wall paint/plaster, floor conditions, ceiling issues, and appliance malfunctions (refrigerator and electric/gas range). The building has ongoing violations from July 2024 related to Apartment 1A, including concerns about lead-based paint hazards, smoke and carbon monoxide detector issues, and evidence of cockroach infestation.

There have been multiple heat and hot water complaints, including a December 2024 resolution indicating corrections were made, though earlier inspections in 2024 and 2023 faced access issues. Additional building conditions of concern include two significant indoor air quality incidents in September 2024 (human feces) and October 2024 (sewage odor), along with multiple failed rodent inspections in 2024-2025 showing rat activity. While the building has maintained a zero infestation status for bedbugs since 2019, the Housing Maintenance Code Violations and 311 service requests indicate persistent maintenance challenges. Recent inspections and service requests have generally resulted in some issue resolutions, though several recent inspections have been unable to complete necessary evaluations, requiring tenants to re-file complaints for proper investigation.

The building has a documented history of varying maintenance issues over recent years, with 2025 seeing a notable cluster of service requests primarily focused on appliances and interior surfaces. While some violations have been closed through corrective actions, there remain several open violations as of mid-2025, particularly concerning safety systems in Apartment 1A. The property's historical bedbug reporting shows consistent monitoring and no reported ongoing infestations since 2019, though there was one reported case in 2019 that was marked as eradicated. Recent rodent inspections have shown mixed results, with significant concerns about rat activity in early 2025, followed by a passed result in June 2025.