158 West 168th Street, Bronx, NY 10452

The 65-unit, 5-story building at 158 West 168th Street in Highbridge, owned by Joseph Zitolo, has experienced persistent maintenance issues over the past two years. Most notably, there was a significant heat and hot water system failure in November 2024 that affected the entire building, which required multiple emergency interventions by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). More recently, in April 2025, there was a plumbing issue involving a toilet that HPD attempted to inspect but could not access.

The building's systems have shown continuing problems, with two appliance-related complaints in January 2025 (one regarding a refrigerator with violations issued) and another concerning an electric/gas range. The building has an open housing maintenance code violation from January 2023 related to a rodent infestation in apartment 1E, which also had multiple violations including issues with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, leaky bathroom faucets, and electric outlets. However, the building has maintained a passing record in recent rodent inspections, with all inspections in 2025 (most recently in May) showing compliance, though there was one failed inspection in January 2023.

The property's environmental conditions appear to be improving, as evidenced by the bedbug reports showing no infestations for the past two reporting periods (2023-2024 and 2024-2025), following some sporadic occurrences in previous years. While the building has demonstrated some ability to address and correct violations (as shown by the multiple complaints being closed after corrections were verified), the recurring nature of heat/hot water issues and appliance problems suggests ongoing maintenance challenges. The most recent inspection records indicate at least some improvement in rodent control, with no recent failures in this area, though the January 2023 failure noted above remains on record.