444 East 134th Street, Bronx, NY 10454

444 East 134th Street is a two-story, two-unit residential building in Port Morris, constructed in 1901 and currently owned by Ernesto Echavarria. The building has experienced recurring heat and hot water issues throughout 2023 and into 2024, with multiple emergency complaints filed through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) between January and February 2024, though most of these were resolved promptly with confirmations of restoration.

The property has also faced some safety concerns, as evidenced by violations recorded in May 2024 in Basement Apartment 2, including missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, though these were certified as corrected by June 2024. Additional violations included defective self-closing doors in both Basement Apartment 2 and Apartment 7, with the latter having issues with a lockable sliding bolt. The building's maintenance history shows a pattern of bedbug reporting compliance, with all four annual filings between 2019 and 2024 showing zero infestations, though the property had received violations for failure to file bedbug reports in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Rodent activity has been a concern, with initial inspections in March 2023 noting rat activity, though subsequent inspections in May and June 2023 passed. The Department of Buildings currently shows active violations from 2019 and 2023 for failure to file annual boiler and external low pressure inspection reports, suggesting ongoing issues with maintenance compliance. The building's heating system appears to require regular monitoring, as evidenced by multiple service requests and the need for emergency interventions during winter months.