553 West 144th Street, Manhattan, NY 10031

553 West 144th Street is a 5-story, 21-unit residential building constructed in 1910 and currently owned by 553 West 144th Street, LLC in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of New York City. The building has experienced recurring infrastructure issues over the past two years, with notable problems including multiple heat and hot water outages, particularly in early 2025 and late 2024, affecting either the entire building or individual apartments.

There have also been significant water-related issues, with multiple complaints about leaks documented between 2023 and 2024, including both slow and heavy flow leaks, some of which resulted in HPD violations. The building's maintenance history shows ongoing concerns with unit 16, where multiple violations were documented in late 2024 regarding water leaks, ceiling damage, and plaster issues, though some complaints from 2024-2025 were marked as having no violations upon inspection. Additionally, apartment 11 has documented violations from June 2024 related to plumbing issues and an infestation of roaches.

The building's recent inspection history indicates persistent rodent activity, with multiple inspections between 2023 and 2025 reporting rat presence or required baiting, though one inspection in January 2023 passed without issues. There is an active Department of Buildings violation from November 2019 regarding a failure to file the 2017 boiler inspection report. While the building has maintained a record of zero bedbug infestations over the past six reporting periods from 2020 to 2025, the presence of ongoing maintenance issues and rodent activity suggests continuing challenges with building systems and pest control.