434 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222

434 Manhattan Avenue is a 5-story, 10-unit residential building in Williamsburg, owned by Yoel Berkovits and constructed in 2015. The building has experienced several maintenance issues in recent years, with the most concerning being three separate incidents in 2024 (water leak, door issues, and heating problems) where the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) was unable to gain access for inspection.

2023 saw multiple reported problems including unsanitary conditions related to pests, flooring issues, and a significant heating/hot water complaint affecting the entire building. While some of these problems were verified and corrected through HPD inspections, the repeated access issues for inspections raise concerns about resolution verification. The building has also had three class A violations for failing to file annual bedbug reports between 2021-2023, though records show consistently zero infested units during these periods.

More recently, in 2025, rat activity has been documented through initial and compliance inspections in March and April, following a previous passed inspection in May 2023. A notable physical maintenance issue was recorded in November 2023, involving a non-self-closing entrance door kickstand at the first story public hall. While the building has maintained a zero infestation record for both bedbugs and rodents in official filings since at least 2019, the recent rodent activity reports suggest an emerging concern in this area.