649 Watkins Street, Brooklyn, NY 11212

649 Watkins Street is a 2-story, 4-unit New Law Tenement building constructed in 1930, currently owned by Indira Baptiste. The property has experienced persistent heat and hot water issues over the past two years, with multiple emergency complaints recorded from February 2023 through February 2024, affecting both individual apartments and the entire building.

Recent inspections in September 2024 identified several violations requiring attention, including safety concerns such as a door with a key-operated lock preventing access to the fire escape in Apartment 1R, defective self-closing doors at entrances, and a loose handrail between floors. Additional violations were noted regarding a fire door latch at the boiler room and an illegal fastening at a fire escape window gate in Apartment 1R. The building has a history of maintenance issues that have required attention from housing authorities, including heavy water leakage reported in May 2023 and various unsanitary conditions.

A notable complaint regarding illegal conversion was filed in September 2024, though access was denied during inspections in 2024 and 2025. The property appears to have maintained a rodent-free status since 2018, with inspections from that year showing satisfactory results, though one initial inspection in April 2018 resulted in a failure for unspecified reasons. While there is no recent bedbug activity reported, with the last notice indicating no infestation or eradication cases for the period between November 2021 and October 2022, the ongoing maintenance issues suggest that the building requires continued oversight and attention to basic services and safety systems.