281 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

The three-story, two-unit residential building at 281 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens, built in 1874 and currently owned by John Verderame, has experienced several significant maintenance issues over the past few years. Most notably, there is an ongoing pattern of non-compliance with Housing Maintenance Code requirements regarding annual bedbug reporting, with open violations recorded in 2022, 2023, and 2024, following a closed violation in 2021.

The building faced rodent-related challenges in 2021, with multiple rat sighting complaints filed in August of that year, though an inspection in September 2021 resulted in a passing evaluation. While there were no recorded rat issues in subsequent inspections in 2010 and 2019, the building's rodent-related complaints in 2021 warrant attention. Recent incidents indicate ongoing maintenance concerns, including a June 2023 construction safety compliance action that resulted in an Oath Violation being served, and a corresponding ECB violation regarding inadequate fire extinguishers on an active job site, though this was marked as resolved with no penalties imposed.

Two other complaints from late 2023, regarding an inadequate/illegal fence and a sustainability enforcement work order, were investigated and found not to warrant violations. It's worth noting that while there were bedbug reporting requirements not being met in recent years, the official bedbug reporting for the period of November 2019 to October 2020 indicated no infested units, no eradicated units, and no re-infested units. The building's documented history includes regular rat inspections, all of which have passed, suggesting some level of rodent management has been effective, though the initial complaints in 2021 remain a notable point in the building's recent history.