481 Lincoln Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11208

The three-story, three-unit building at 481 Lincoln Avenue in Cypress Hills, built in 1901 and currently owned by Juan Fernandez, has experienced several concerning maintenance issues over the past several years. Most notably, in early 2024, there were multiple emergency complaints including heat/hot water issues, electrical problems (including no lighting), and mold concerns, with at least one heat/hot water violation being officially documented and others requiring multiple service requests.

The building is currently facing illegal conversion allegations with an active complaint from July 2024 regarding unauthorized apartment modifications from a previous December 2018 complaint, both of which resulted in DOB inspectors being unable to gain access during multiple inspection attempts. Additionally, there are significant violation histories from 2024 including safety concerns in Apartment 1R related to smoke detector installation, carbon monoxide detector installation, window repairs, and various maintenance issues, though many of these violations show as having been certified corrected by April 2024. The property has a checkered history of maintenance issues extending back to 2018, when multiple violations were documented including mold, water leaks, and various other building maintenance problems, though inspections typically found no violations (except for one heat/hot water issue).

The building has maintained an apparently pest-free environment in recent years, with no bedbug infestations reported in the past five reporting periods (as of 2024) and a mix of rodent inspection results between 2011 and 2014 showing mostly passing results. A potentially serious violation remains active from 2019 regarding occupancy contrary to that allowed by the C of O, with a penalty of $12,500 imposed related to illegally subdividing a third-story apartment. This extensive history of maintenance issues, including multiple illegal conversion complaints and an active environmental citation, suggests ongoing challenges with building maintenance and regulatory compliance, though many recent inspection violations have been resolved or certified as corrected.