553 Chestnut Street, Brooklyn, NY 11208

The two-family house at 553 Chestnut Street in East New York, built in 1960 and currently owned by Rabaka Rahman, has experienced significant maintenance issues, particularly during the winter months of late 2019 through early 2020. The property, which consists of two stories, has documented multiple heat and hot water complaints, with tenants reporting problems in December 2019, January 2020, and February 2020.

While the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) investigated these complaints, no violations were initially issued. However, an inspection on March 2, 2020, revealed several concerning issues, including excessively hot water exceeding 130 degrees in the second-story apartment, and an open violation regarding the need for an approved carbon monoxide detecting device. Additional documentation from this period shows the second-story apartment experienced an unsanitary condition with a pest infestation, specifically mice, during late 2019/early 2020.

While some violations from this period were eventually closed, including the hot water temperature issue, the carbon monoxide detector violation remained open as of the last available records. A rodent inspection conducted in April 2012 had passed, but this was long before the documented pest issues in 2020. All service requests and Housing Maintenance Code complaints from this period have been officially closed, but the records indicate a pattern of heating/hot water maintenance challenges and safety equipment concerns during the winter of 2019-2020.