35-13 97th Street, Queens, NY 11368

The three-story, three-unit residential building at 35-13 97th Street in Jackson Heights, owned by Leon Dareo, has experienced several notable issues in recent years, particularly regarding building safety compliance and maintenance. In October 2023, complaints were filed regarding unsanitary conditions in garbage/recycling storage areas, which were investigated by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) but did not result in violations.

However, during a June 2024 inspection, multiple violations were documented in the first-story public hall area, including an open Class C violation for a non-self-closing vestibule door hinge and several open Class A violations related to missing safety and information postings, such as smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector requirements, gas leak procedures, and building registration information. The building's bedbug reporting shows no infestations were reported in the past two filing periods (2023-2024 and 2022-2023), and the property has maintained required annual bedbug reports, though there were some compliance issues noted in earlier incidents.

Historical records indicate some concerning patterns related to building access and egress issues, with multiple complaints between 2020 and 2022 regarding locked or blocked egress points, though these complaints were ultimately marked as "No Violation Warranted" or "Inspector Unable To Gain Access." The property has also faced rodent activity challenges, with inspections in December 2022 and January 2023 both indicating rat activity. While there were complaints about potential illegal conversions of the property in 2020-2022, inspections were either unable to gain access or did not warrant violations. It's worth noting that the building's age (constructed in 1993) and current owner have been through several phases of regulatory scrutiny, with the most recent violations primarily centering on safety signage and self-closing door requirements rather than critical safety issues.