234 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215

234 5th Avenue is a 5-unit, 4-story residential building constructed in 1925 in Park Slope, currently owned by Helen Tepper. The building has experienced multiple recurring housing maintenance code violations related to bedbug reporting requirements between 2021 and 2024, with the most recent open violation in April 2024 concerning the failure to file annual bedbug reports as required by HPD. From late 2022 through 2024, the property faced significant issues with unauthorized ground-floor commercial use, particularly involving an unlicensed physical treatment establishment known as "Ocean Body Work" operating with multiple massage rooms.

This situation resulted in multiple Department of Buildings (DOB) Environmental Control Board violations, with penalties totaling $37,500, though some have been marked as resolved. The ground floor modification work was also addressed through several violations, including for performing work without appropriate permits, with an active penalty of $12,500 as of the most recent records. The building's maintenance history shows some attention to basic pest control, with rodent inspections conducted in 2017 showing compliance.

Bedbug-related filings in 2021 reported no infested or eradicated units during the 2019-2020 period, and permits were issued in 2018-2019 for unspecified work. There have been several complaints logged with the DOB, including issues related to illegal conversion and adult establishment concerns, all of which have been closed. The property has maintained its basic residential character as an "OLD LAW TENEMENT" building, though recent years have shown challenges with both pest control compliance and unauthorized commercial use of its ground floor space.