5505 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220

The 6-unit, 4-story New Law tenement building at 5505 5th Avenue in Sunset Park, owned by Mark Lavian, has experienced ongoing heat and hot water issues throughout the past three years, with multiple emergency complaints filed between 2022 and 2025. Most recently, in early 2025 alone, there were three separate complaints about heat/hot water issues affecting the entire building, with HPD inspections unable to gain access to units on two occasions.

The building underwent an HPD inspection in October 2024 that revealed several maintenance issues requiring attention, including problems with the building entrance door's locking device, defective vinyl tiles in the public hall, door self-closing mechanisms, lighting fixtures, fire retardant materials, and interior wall paint. Notably, a complaint about an illegal conversion from February 2022 resulted in no violations being found, though access to inspect was not granted. On a positive note, the building has maintained a clean bedbug record for the past four reporting periods from 2020 through 2025, with no reported infestations or cases requiring eradication.

The most recent bedbug report from June 2025 for the period 2023-2024 indicated zero infested units. While there was a fire escape-related complaint in March 2022, no violations were warranted following inspection. The combination of recurring heat/hot water issues and multiple recent maintenance violations, some of which remain open as of 2025, suggests ongoing challenges with building systems and maintenance, though the absence of pest issues is noteworthy.