471 Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11221

The three-story, four-unit residential building at 471 Putnam Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, owned by Shmiel Berkowitz and constructed in 1931, has experienced several significant maintenance issues over recent years, particularly regarding pest control. Most notably, there has been an ongoing rodent problem, as demonstrated by multiple rat activity findings in 2024 (both in June and October), and a recent rat sighting complaint in June 2025.

The building's rodent inspection history shows a pattern of activity, with rat sightings recorded during both initial and compliance inspections in 2022 and 2024, suggesting persistent challenges with vermin control despite some passed inspections in previous years (2019 and 2017). The property has also experienced administrative challenges related to bedbug reporting compliance.

From 2021 to 2023, the building received three class A violations regarding failure to file annual bedbug reports as required under the Housing Maintenance Code. However, recent bedbug reporting records from 2023 through 2025 show consistent declarations of zero infested units, with all units either being free of infestation or having eradicated units, though the listing of no units affected may suggest improvements in reporting compliance rather than an actual lack of previous issues. The building's reported bedbug cases during this period were notably limited, with all annual reports indicating zero infested, eradicated, or re-infested units across different reporting periods.