521 West 135th Street, Manhattan, NY 10031

The 20-unit, 5-story tenement at 521 West 135th Street in Hamilton Heights, owned by Wily Contreras and built in 1915, has experienced several maintenance challenges in recent years. The building has faced persistent issues with plumbing systems, particularly steam pipes and risers, as evidenced by multiple complaints and violations between 2019-2024.

Recent inspections in 2023-2024 revealed a roach infestation in apartment 3B and water leak issues in apartment 1B, though the building's bedbug situation appears somewhat stabilized with no infested units reported in the 2024 filing period. The property has demonstrated compliance with rodent inspections over several years, with only the most recent inspections in 2025 showing evidence of rat activity, though previous inspections from 2022-2023 had consistently passed. The building's record shows a pattern of violations concerning annual inspection filings, particularly for boiler and external low-pressure inspections, though these violations were dismissed in late 2023.

Multiple Housing Maintenance Code violations were issued between 2019-2024, including issues related to radiator repairs, water leaks, and plaster surface conditions. While many of these violations were subsequently closed, some, like the October 2019 violations in apartment 1D regarding baseboard radiator and plaster issues, show a delay in resolution. The most recent inspections indicate active efforts to address maintenance issues, though some problems persist, as evidenced by the recent rodent activity findings and the open violation regarding roach infestation in apartment 3B from 2023.