20 Pell Street

Manhattan, NY

BBL 1-00163-0006BIN 1001780Plain-text version

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

019 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) across 11 apartments
023 open rent-impairing violation(s)
0329 active DOB violation(s)

How this is set: open hazardous violations measured against the building's size, then raised by strong distress signals — HPD's enforcement program, court harassment findings, recent evictions, unpaid OATH/ECB fines, open housing-court cases, and a sold tax lien. Neighborhood noise and crime are not part of it. It describes the public record, not the condition of any one apartment, and a quiet record is not proof of a good building.

Rent regulation

Likely rent-stabilized

The owner registered 11 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — essentially all of the building's 11 apartments.

2018 — 11 units registered2023 — 11

No public data says which specific apartment is stabilized.

Registration counts apply to the building, not to unit numbers. To confirm your own apartment, request your rent history from New York State Homes and Community Renewal — it is free and takes a few weeks.

How to request your rent history →

Rent regulation

The building

1910

Built

Floors

Residential units

Store building

Type

Energy-efficiency grade

Grade F — did not comply

Posted at the entrance of buildings over 25,000 sq ft (Local Law 33). It rates energy efficiency — a proxy for comfort and utility cost — not the landlord's upkeep.

The building

This building and the landlord's others

This building

HPD housing-maintenance violations

Open now

On record

Open Class C

Open Class B

Open Class A

Class C is immediately hazardous, Class B is hazardous, Class A is non-hazardous. A violation stays open until HPD certifies the repair, so some open items may already be fixed. HPD writes a separate violation for each room or spot, so one inspection can produce several near-identical entries; those are grouped below by apartment and date.

CLASS I · NON-HAZARDOUS

§27-2107 ADM CODE OWNER FAILED TO FILE A VALID REGISTRATION STATEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT AS REQUIRED BY ADM CODE §27-2097 AND IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CIVIL PENALTIES, PROHIBITED FROM CERTIFYING VIOLATIONS, AND DENIED THE RIGHT TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF PREMISES FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT UNTIL A VALID REGISTRATION STATEMENT IS FILED.

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2022-10-032 violations

§27-2005 (E) HMC: PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE TO THE TENANTS AT LEAST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS PRIOR TO ESSENTIAL SERVICE INTERRUPTION BY POSTING A NOTICE IN A PROMINENT PLACE WITHIN THE PUBLIC PART OF THE BUILDING AND ON EACH FLOOR OF SUCH BUILDING, WHERE AN OWNER MUST MAKE A REPAIR THAT MAY RESULT IN AN INTERRUPTION OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES SUCH AS UTILITIES(HEAT, HOT WATER, GAS, ELECTRICITY, OR ELEVATOR) THAT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS. SAMPLE NOTICE AVAILABLE AT WWW.NYC.GOV/HPD OR AS PROVIDED IN THIS NOTICE OF VIOLATION. IN RESTORATION OF THE GAS SERVICE/S FOR ENTIRE BUILDING AT PUBLIC HALL, 1st STORY
§ 27-2033 ADM CODE POST NOTICE, IN FORM APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT, STATING THE NAME AND LOCATION OF THE PERSON DESIGNATED BY THE OWNER TO HAVE KEY TO BUILDINGS HEATING SYSTEM MISSING SIGN AT PUBLIC HALL, 1st STORY

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2022-01-032 violations

§ 27-2033 ADM CODE PROVIDE READY ACCESS TO BUILDINGS HEATING SYSTEM BASEMENT DOOR LOCKED AT BOILER ROOM
§ 27-2033 ADM CODE POST NOTICE, IN FORM APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT, STATING THE NAME AND LOCATION OF THE PERSON DESIGNATED BY THE OWNER TO HAVE KEY TO BUILDINGS HEATING SYSTEM MISSING

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 3Issued 2021-11-225+ YRS OLD

§ 27-2005, 27-2007, 27-2041.1 HMC: REPLACE OR REPAIR THE SELF-CLOSING DOORS THAT IS MISSING OR DEFECTIVE , IN THE ENTRANCE LOCATED AT APT 3, 4th STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM NORTH AT EAST

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

All time

Last 12 months

Heat/Hot Water9

General5

Appliance2

Plumbing1

ApplianceElectric/Gas Range2023-01-11 · closed

GeneralCooking Gas2022-11-12 · closed

Heat/Hot WaterApartment Only2021-12-07 · closed

Complaints record what a tenant reported, not a finding by the city. "Closed" often means the inspector could not gain access.

311 complaints from tenants

Neighborhood noise

Higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

865

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Commercial289

Street/Sidewalk225

Residential195

Unspecified121

Vehicle29

Park3

Helicopter2

House of Worship1

311 noise complaints within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year. Most reports here are about outdoor noise (mostly commercial) — street life and traffic more than neighbors. This counts how often people call 311, which tracks how densely populated and busy an area is as much as how loud it is — it is not a sound measurement.

Neighborhood noise

Neighborhood crime

Higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

443

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony179

Misdemeanor230

Violation34

NYPD complaints reported within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year, by severity. This reflects what gets reported and where police are active as much as actual safety, and busier, denser, higher-foot-traffic blocks log more. Locations are approximate — the NYPD shifts each report to the nearest corner for privacy — so read this as rough context, not a safety score.

Neighborhood crime

Bedbug history

No annual bedbug report on file. Owners of buildings with three or more apartments must file one each year — its absence can mean a smaller building, or an owner that has not filed.

Bedbug history

DOB building violations

Active

On record

Active, last 3 yrs

Violations issued by the Department of Buildings that the owner must correct. Most don't carry a fine on their own; summonses that go to a hearing and can be fined are listed separately under OATH/ECB.

ACTIVE · EGRADE-FAILURE TO POST ENERGY GRADE/SCORE NONE2024-12-01

FAILURE TO DISPLAY ENERGY EFFICIENCY SCORE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY GRADE AS PER ADCODE SEC. 28-309.12.3

ACTIVE · LBLVIO-LOW PRESSURE BOILER BOILER REQUIRED2024-09-23

VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2023 EXTERNAL LOW PRESSURE INSPECTION

ACTIVE · BENCH-FAILURE TO BENCHMARK NONE2024-08-02

FAILURE TO FILE BENCHMARKING REPORT OF ENERGY USE AS PER AD. CODE SEC. 28-309.4

DOB building violations

OATH/ECB violations and fines

Balance due (active)

Active violations

Lost by default

These are separate from DOB violations. They are summonses written by DOB inspectors and decided at a hearing before OATH, the city's administrative court (formerly the Environmental Control Board), and they can carry a fine. "Lost by default" means the owner never appeared at the hearing. An unpaid balance is a stronger "ignoring the city" signal than a raw violation count.

OATH/ECB violations and fines

Evictions

No marshal-executed evictions on record for this building. Eviction cases filed in court but not carried out aren't included.

Evictions

Housing court: repair & harassment cases

Cases on record

Open now

Tenant-brought

Harassment found

With a judgment

Most cases are tenants taking the owner to court to force repairs. A case is not proof of wrongdoing; a harassment finding or judgment is a court ruling against the owner.

CLOSEDOpened 2021-12-17

Tenant action

CLOSEDOpened 2009-12-10

Heat / hot water

These are cases HPD is a party to, mostly tenants suing to force repairs or stop harassment. Eviction cases landlords file against tenants are not in the city's open data, so they don't appear here; the Evictions section shows only evictions a marshal carried out.

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

HONG KONG SEA FOOD KING INC.

Head officer

THEODORE CHIN

Managing agent

DAVID CHAN

No other buildings found sharing this building's registered contact.

Landlord and related buildings

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale1981-01-20 · no recorded price

Most recent mortgage1981-05-14 · no recorded price

Mortgage1981-05-14no recorded price

borrower HONG KONG SEAFOOD KING · lender CHU, JOSEPH

Sale1981-01-20no recorded price

CHU, JOSEPH → HONG KONG SEAFOOD KING

Mortgage1981-01-20no recorded price

borrower HONG KONG SEAFOOD KING · lender CHU, JOSEPH

Sale1975-10-09no recorded price

CHU, JOSEPH → ST GEORGE MANAGEMENTCRP

Sale1975-10-09no recorded price

ST GEORGE MANAGEMENTCRP → CHU, JOSEPH

From ACRIS recorded documents. Amounts are often $0 or nominal for transfers between related parties, and LLCs can obscure who is really involved — treat this as public-record context, not a valuation.

Ownership & money

City debt & tax-lien sale

Not on the city's tax-lien sale list (2019–2025). The owner has not fallen far enough behind on property tax or water charges to be flagged for a lien sale.

City debt & tax-lien sale