12 East 196th Street, Bronx, NY 10468

The 34-unit, 6-story New Law Tenement building at 12 East 196th Street in Fordham, owned by Yecheskel Geller, has experienced several maintenance issues in recent years, with 2025 showing particular concerns. Most notably, there is currently an open Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigation regarding food worker hygiene initiated in June 2025.

The building has faced recurring challenges with building systems, including multiple heat and hot water complaints (most recently in April 2025), problems with building access for inspections, and various maintenance issues including ceiling paint/plaster problems that have persisted through multiple HPD complaint cycles. Recent maintenance code violations, particularly from October 2024, were primarily concentrated in apartment 1E and included issues with water leaks, self-closing doors, bathroom and kitchen repair needs, and paint requirements.

The building has also had documented rodent inspection activity, with the most recent April 2024 inspection resulting in failure for other reasons, although previous inspections in 2022 and 2019 passed. While the property has maintained thorough records of bedbug inspections showing no infestations from 2019-2025, recent housing maintenance complaints suggest ongoing maintenance challenges. The building's history includes several Local Law Audits in 2020-2021, and in 2019, an ECB violation was issued for unauthorized work in apartment 3B, resulting in a penalty of $1,250.