244 West 20 Street

Manhattan, NY

BBL 1-00769-0062BIN 1014000

Concern level2 of 4

Moderate

011 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 DOB 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 1 stabilized unit with New York State for 2023 — of about 10 apartments.

2018 — 1 units registered2023 — 1

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

1925

Built

Floors

Residential units

Walk-up apartments

Type

The building

This building and the landlord's others

This building5 others linked to the same owner

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.

No open HPD violations.

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

All time

Last 12 months

Heat/Hot Water2

Unsanitary Condition2

Door/Window1

Water Leak1

Unsanitary ConditionGarbage/Recycling Storage2026-06-08 · closed

Water LeakSlow Leak2024-01-10 · closed

Unsanitary ConditionMold2024-01-10 · 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

Much higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

1059

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Residential546

Unspecified175

Commercial157

Street/Sidewalk130

Vehicle29

Helicopter20

Park1

House of Worship1

311 noise complaints within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year. Most reports here are about noise from inside buildings — neighbors, not the street. 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

412

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony146

Misdemeanor208

Violation58

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 bedbugs reported

The owner filed 9 annual bedbug reports and reported no infested units. Filing with zero infestations is the compliant, reassuring case.

Bedbug history

DOB building violations

Active

On record

Active, last 3 yrs

ACTIVE · C-CONSTRUCTION OTHER OPTIONAL2017-04-08

THE BOROUGH COMMISSIONER HAS ORDERED AN ADMINISTRATIVE STOP WORK ORDER FOR APPLICATION #140572217 FOR FAILED AUDIT. STOP WORK AND MAKE SITE SAFE. PROVIDE ALL REQUIRED INFORMATION FORTHWITH

DOB building violations

Evictions

No executed evictions on record for this building.

Evictions

Housing court

No HPD housing-court cases on record for this building.

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

MERLE HOUSE INC.

Head officer

HARRY DEMOTT

Managing agent

BUCHBINDER & WARREN LLC

5 other buildings share this owner's registration contacts. Shared contacts suggest common control, but they are not proof of ownership.

165 9 AVENUEMANHATTAN 220 WEST 20 STREETMANHATTAN 252 WEST 21 STREETMANHATTAN 335 WEST 20 STREETMANHATTAN 405 WEST 21 STREETMANHATTAN

Landlord and related buildings

Unpaid city fines

Balance due (active)

Active violations

Lost by default

DOB violations adjudicated by OATH carry money penalties. "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.

Unpaid city fines

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale1987-09-11 · no recorded price

Most recent mortgage2026-05-28 · $360,000

Mortgage2026-05-28$360,000

borrower MERLE HOUSE, INC. · lender NATIONAL CONSUMER COOPERATIVE BANK

Mortgage2016-04-11$400,000

borrower MERLE HOUSE, INC. · lender NATIONAL CONSUMER COOPERATIVE BANK

Mortgage2012-12-06$72,261.15

borrower MERLE HOUSE, INC. · lender EMIGRANT FUNDING CORPORATION

Mortgage2005-02-28$86,000

borrower MERLE HOUSE, INC. · lender EMIGRANT FUNDING CORPORATION

Mortgage1988-06-30$177,742.23

borrower MERLE HOUSE INC · lender DEMOTT, HARRY J. JR.

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