261 West 121st Street, Manhattan, NY 10027

The two-story, four-unit building at 261 West 121st Street in Harlem, owned by Eric Wong and built in 1910, has recently experienced significant heating system challenges. Throughout October 2024, there were multiple emergency heat and hot water complaints filed with HPD, including four service requests that were ultimately closed, with at least two instances of HPD verifying inadequate heat or hot water despite being unable to access all apartments for inspection. An inspection on October 9, 2024, resulted in two open violations: one for a locked boiler room access issue in the basement and another related to insufficient hot water in apartment #2.

This pattern of heating system problems is notable, considering the building had previously maintained a stable record regarding pest issues, with bedbug reports between 2019-2025 showing zero cases of infestation, eradication, or re-infestation. Additionally, the building has consistently passed rodent inspections between 2018-2025, suggesting effective pest management. The building's maintenance history reveals several other ongoing maintenance issues, as documented during the October 2024 inspections.

Violations were noted regarding non-functioning self-closing doors in various apartments (1, 2, and 3) and inadequate gas supply to kitchen fixtures in apartments #1 and #3. While the heating system problems appear to be the most pressing current issue, the building's violation history also includes an outstanding violation from April 2024 regarding an annual bedbug report that was not filed. Despite these concerns, the building's recent rodent inspection results have been consistently passed, indicating effective pest control measures. The combination of repeated heating system complaints, open violations, and recent maintenance issues suggests ongoing challenges with building systems and maintenance, warranting close attention to the resolution of these problems.