701 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216

701 Dekalb Avenue is a four-story, four-unit residential building located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, built in 1931 and currently owned by Bill Wren. The property has experienced persistent issues with heat and hot water throughout the past four years, with the most recent cluster of complaints occurring in January 2025, involving both building-wide and unit-specific heating issues that necessitated emergency responses from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). These heating system failures have been a recurring problem, with multiple complaints documented between 2021 and 2022.

The building has also faced challenges with plumbing systems, as evidenced by a water supply complaint in January 2025 that HPD could not inspect fully. The property has maintained an active record of compliance with bedbug reporting requirements, showing consistent documentation of zero infested units from 2019 through the present, with the most recent report for the period ending October 2024 indicating no infestations. Rodent control efforts have shown variable results, with several inspections in 2022 indicating rat activity, though recent inspections in 2023-2025 have passed. The building's maintenance history includes various violations and compliance issues, such as unsanitary garbage storage conditions in 2024 (which received no violations upon inspection), and a specific mold issue in apartment 1B in 2022.

A significant incident occurred in 2019 when masonry fell from the building's exterior, injuring one individual and leading to penalties from the Environmental Control Board. However, the most recent inspection records indicate improved conditions, with no new bedbug or major pest incidents reported since 2020, and all notable violations appear to have been resolved. The building's history reveals a pattern of infrastructure challenges, particularly regarding the heating system and occasional plumbing issues, while also demonstrating relatively good pest management and compliance with bedbug reporting requirements. The most pressing current issues appear to be related to the building's heating system, which has shown persistent reliability problems despite multiple repair attempts and inspections over the years.