562 Humboldt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222

The two-story, three-unit building at 562 Humboldt Street in Greenpoint, owned by Allen Towbin, has a problematic history spanning several years. Most concerning are the ongoing bedbug report compliance violations, with open Class A violations recorded through 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021, all relating to the owner's failure to file the required annual bedbug reports with HPD.

In 2022, the Department of Buildings took action against the property, resulting in four Environmental Control Board violations related to improper transient use of the building, particularly concerning Apartment 2F on the first floor and Apartment 2K on the second floor. These violations, which were subsequently resolved, included serious safety concerns such as inadequate means of egress, absence of required automatic sprinklers, and lack of fire alarm systems for the unauthorized transient units, with penalties totaling $7,250. The building's earlier history includes two rodent inspections in 2011, with one resulting in failure for unspecified reasons and the other passing compliance.

While the property has not had any recent complaints regarding illegal hotel rooms since the 2022 incident, the persistent bedbug report violations suggest ongoing maintenance issues. The building, constructed in 1910 and classified as an Old Law Tenement, appears to be experiencing challenges with compliance to both housing maintenance codes and basic safety requirements, particularly in terms of fire safety systems that were required under building codes. The repeated nature of the bedbug report violations over multiple years indicates a pattern of non-compliance that has continued into 2024.