21 Pine Street, Brooklyn, NY 11208

The two-family house at 21 Pine Street in Cypress Hills, owned by Josef Ariel, has a century-old history dating back to 1910. Recent years have seen recurring concerns about unauthorized uses of the property, with three significant complaints between 2020 and 2025.

Most recently, in February 2025, there was a complaint regarding illegal hotel rooms, but inspectors were unable to access the property for verification. Prior to that, in June 2022, a complaint about an illegal conversion was investigated but resulted in no violations being found at the time of inspection. In July 2020, there was a complaint related to work being conducted without proper permits, which resulted in a stop work order that was fully rescinded by January 2021.

The building also underwent permitted work in late 2020, with a permit issued in November for electrical work (job number 340767281). An earlier inspection in March 2012 found that the property passed a rodent inspection. While the property has maintained compliance with some regulatory requirements, the pattern of complaints and investigations over recent years, particularly regarding unauthorized conversion and transient occupancy, suggests ongoing monitoring of the building's use and maintenance history.