85 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

The 10-unit, 5-story New Law Tenement at 85 Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights, built in 1913 and currently owned by Pjr Equities Ltd, has experienced several notable maintenance issues in recent years. Most concerning is an ongoing Department of Health complaint from April 2025 regarding construction lead dust in common areas. In late 2024, the building faced heating issues, with multiple complaints filed in November regarding inadequate heat/hot water, both building-wide and in individual apartments, though inspections did not find violations.

The building has documented problems with its fire escape system, with violations issued in mid-2024 for defective conditions on the 2nd and 3rd story fire escape balconies, including corroded bottom rails. Apartment 2 has specific violations from 2024 related to excessive hot water temperatures and defective self-closing doors, while Apartment 6 has an open violation regarding lead-based paint hazard control requirements. Additionally, there have been multiple 311 complaints about building safety, including issues with stairs, plumbing, and a May 2024 complaint about broken light fixtures in public areas.

The building's maintenance history shows some persistent concerns, particularly regarding lead paint compliance, with open violations as of 2024 regarding failure to investigate lead-based paint hazards and provide required documentation. While there have been various housing code violations issued and subsequently closed, including plumbing and fire safety issues, recent inspections have generally resulted in identified violations rather than immediate safety concerns. Notably, the building's record shows consistent bedbug-free status across all annual reports since 2018, and rodent inspections from 2013, 2015, and 2019 generally show compliance or passing results, though there was one recorded instance of rat activity in April 2019 that appears to have been resolved by June 2019.