221 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

221 Van Brunt Street is a 4-story, 8-unit brick apartment building constructed in 1900 in Red Hook, currently owned by Raymond Yu. The property has experienced recurring heat and hot water issues over the past several years, with ten documented complaints between late 2020 and late 2022, most of which were building-wide problems and required emergency responses from HPD. These complaints included multiple instances of no heat or hot water reported between November 2020 and September 2022, with some complaints remaining uninspected due to access issues.

The building currently has three active Department of Buildings violations issued in September 2024 for failing to file 2023 External Low Pressure Inspections, and earlier violations from April 2023 for the same reason. The building has maintained a clean record regarding bedbugs, with no reported infestations or eradications in the past five years from 2019 to 2024. Multiple housing maintenance code violations were issued in 2020-2021, including two open Class C violations relating to hot water issues (in Apartments 1A and 2A), and various safety concerns in Apartment 2A including a problematic fire escape door lock, defective self-closing doors, and locked access to the heating system.

Apartment 1A had several violations including missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and a door lock issue. While some violations were eventually certified as corrected, including a Class B violation regarding mold removal in Apartment 2A from November 2020, several remain open as of the most recent inspection records. The building's boiler system drew attention in late 2020, with a complaint about defective/inoperative equipment that required inspection, though no violations were warranted at that time.